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AN ENGLISHMAN'S 



sketch-book; 



LETTERS FROM NEW-YORK. 



For oft we learn, in a familiar way, 

That which the deeper scholar hath o'erlooked. 



~" ~r 



NEW-YORK : 

PUBLISHED BY 6. AND C. CARV1LL. 

ELLIOTT AND PALMER, PRINTERS. 

1828. 



(4 a 



Southern District of New-York, ss. 

BE IT REMEMBERED, That on the 26th day of April, A. D. 1828, in 

the 52d year of the Independence of the United States of America O. <$• C 

Carvill, of the said District, have deposited in this office the title of a book, 

the right whereof they claim as proprietors, in the words following, to wit : 

" An Englishman's Sketch-Book ; or. Letters from JVeze-York. 

' For oft we learn, in a familiar way, 
That which the deeper scholar hath overlooked.' " 

In conformity to the Act of Congress of the United States, entitled, " An 
\<t for the encouragement of Learning, by securing the copies of Maps, 
Charts, and Books, to the authors and proprietors of such copies, during the 
time therein mentioned," And also to an Act, entitled " An Act supple- 
mentary to an Act, entitled an Act for the encouragement of Learning, by 
securing the copies of Maps, Charts, and Books, to the authors and pro- 
ors of such copies, during the times therein mentioned, and extending 
the benefits thereof to the arts of designing, engraving, and etching historical 
her Prints." 

F. J. BETTS, 
Clerk of the Southern District of New-York. 



THIS WORK 

IS INSCRIBED TO 

CAPT. BASIL HALL, R.N. F.R.S. 

WITH THE ASSURANCE OF THE ESTEEM AND FRIENDSHIP 
OF THE 

AUTHOR. 

Jfew-York, 1828. 



PREFACE. 



In presenting this little work to the public, 
the author will merely remark, that it con- 
sists of a number of letters originally pub- 
lished in a newspaper in the city of A , 

which have been recently revised for publi- 
cation, at the instance of some esteemed 
friends. 

It may not be improper to state, that at 
the time of their first appearance, they were 
much quoted and frequently approved. It 
is hoped that, notwithstanding some four 
years have passed away since they had their 
" exits and their entrances," that the read- 
ing public will not consider this attempt to 
place them in a more convenient form, as 
inconsiderate, ill-timed or obtrusive. 

!* 



iv PREFACE. 

If any favour is shown to these sketches, 
the author will not hesitate to commit a fa- 
vourite MS., of which at least the subject- 
matter is novel, to the immediate consider- 
ation of the American public. 

New- York, May, 1828. 



LETTER I. 



Adieu ! adieu ! my native shore 

Fades o'er the waters blue ; 
The night winds sigh, the breakers roar, 

And shrieks the wild sea mew. 
Yon Sun that sets upon the sea, 

We follow in his flight ; 
Farewell a while to him, and thee 

My native land Good night ! 

Childe Harold. 



My DEAR I , 

The last embrace of friends, and the last pressing 
of hands, were scarcely over, ere the good ship 
Amity was dropping fast down the river. I saw 
your handkerchief waving in the wind, and my sis- 
ter, that dearest, best of women, often putting hers 
to her eyes — nay, as your barge was fast leaving 
us, I cannot say but that my own were wet with 
" some natural tears." It is a sad moment which 



8 AN englishman's sketch-book; 

tears us from our friends ; and to the young, there 
is not a more dreadful feeling than home-sickness, 
in all the maladies of the heart. I felt at that mo- 
ment all its terrible presentiments, and its antici- 
pated pangs. I was leaving those who loved me, 
and were worthy of being loved; but I vowed never 
to forget those who were dearer to me than life. 
Family and friends are indeed our strongest ties, 
our incentives to action, our inducements to perse- 
verance; the hope of being worthy of them ani- 
mates our bosoms — they are the first, earliest, 
dearest objects of our fancy; we bless them at 
the moment of our dissolution. I felt all this as 
you faded from my view, and a thousand times 
since we parted. Believe me, no lapse of time, or 
alteration of circumstances, can ever change my 
heart : it is fixed, devoted — indissolubly attached 
to you. While I write, it beats with strong emo- 
tions of affection. My last prayer to heaven shall 
be for your preservation and happiness. 

Our voyage was pleasant and undisturbed. We 
were at New-York in twenty days after leaving 
Liverpool ; and it was then only an ordinary pas- 
sage. Outside of Sandy Hook, a pilot came on 
board from a swift little vessel, and under his di- 
rection we rapidly swept into the bay. I shall take 
an early opportunity to describe it to you; and 



OR, LETTERS FROM NEW-YORK. 9 

until then, I shall only make a general confession 
of its thousand beauties. 

The impression made on my mind as we ap- 
proached the walk or point of the city called The 
Battery, was an agreeable one. Steeple after stee- 
ple met the eye, and vessel after vessel passed as we 
approached the dock. A great city was before me, 
and I saw with strong feelings of surprise its evident 
magnitude, wealth and importance. Let your fancy 
delineate for you, our landing ; the taking leave 
amongst the passengers ; our passing up and down 
different streets ; and our safe arrival at a large and 
fine building, " The City Hotel," in a noble street, 
called Broadway : then imagine me seated in the 
second story of the house, with my books and let- 
ters around me, alternately penning a hasty sentence 
and then gazing on the crowd below. I am quite 
at ease and domesticated ; yet still there is an ach- 
ing void in my heart which home only can fill. 

I delivered this morning some of my letters of 
introduction, and I first presented myself at Mr. 
C.'s. I called at twelve o'clock, an hour dedicated 
to friendship in this country, and found him at home, 
at his mansion in William-street. It is a very solid 
and substantial piece of masonry, rather old fa- 
shioned without, and very plainly and handsomely 
furnished within. He received me with great po- 



10 AN ENGLISHMAN'S SKETCH-BOOK; 

liteness, and I was highly pleased with his manner. 
To give you an idea of his person, I shall send with 
this letter a very good print of him. He has a long 
head, a high forehead, and an expression of firm- 
ness and judgment. His action is dignified, and 
his deportment that of a well-bred man. After a 
very interesting, although desultory conversation 
with him, I spoke of Mr. Fulton, a gentleman for 
whom I know you have the highest regard ; and I 
took occasion to mention the honours now paid his 
memory in England. I found I had pressed a 
chord in his heart, that warmly vibrated at the 
touch. His eyes, which before were fixed, and 
comparatively inexpressive, beamed with new lustre, 
and shone with all the ardour of a devoted friend- 
ship. Growing animated in the discussion of Mr. 
Fulton's merits, he gave me a rapid, yet highly in- 
teresting sketch of his early and later career. You 
may suppose how much I was struck with his elo- 
quent zeal, and how my blood thrilled as he con- 
cluded in words, whose import was something like 
the following : 

"Mr. Fulton," said he, " is now beyond the 
reach of friendship ; and surely, Sir, you must ac- 
knowledge the disinterestedness of my attachment, 
which calls from me now, in spite of the ' dull for- 
getfulness' of time, this expression of my devotion 



OR, LETTERS FROM NEW-YORK. 1 1 

to his memory. While this bosom burns within me, 
and this body is animated with life, I shall not cease 
to vindicate, as I have never ceased to lament him. 
Triumphing over the difficulties of natural and ex- 
perimental philosophy, and those with which pride 
and envy had filled his path, with an assiduity that 
knew no relaxation, and an industry that never 
tired, whether in sickness or health, at home or 
abroad, he made no compromises with his ambition, 
no concessions to his ease. He studied, demonstra- 
ted, and put into successful operation, one of the 
noblest theories of man, overcoming both space 
and time, and connecting by its means the different 
spheres and systems of his native land. And yet, 
Sir, (here his voice faltered, and his accents were 
less distinct,) I fear his memory is not safe from the 
malignity of posthumous detraction. The honour 
of a spotless life is the only legacy that has descend- 
ed unimpaired to his children. Nay, the sacred 
and pledged faith of the government cannot secure 
it to them ; and their infancy, which in other cases 
would protect them from injury, is a signal that only 
invites oppression. Happy days were those, when 
my friend distinguished me by his regard ; happy 
nights, when, in his social circle, all the anticipated 
glories of the arts were announced by his prophe- 
tic voice, and all the obstacles which fetter the en- 



12 AN ENGLISHMAN'S SKETCH-BOOK; 

terprize of genius were explained, to the amaze- 
ment of all who heard him ; when his eloquent man- 
ner and finely cultivated mind drew from all present 
the burst of unqualified praise. He seemed destined 
by heaven to bless mankind. Alas ! all our hopes 
are departed with him— departed, never to return." 

This gentleman is the biographer of his friend. 
He stands high as a lawyer, and with a spotless re- 
putation he possesses all the energy of virtue. I have 
no doubt but that he will some day or other adorn the 
councils of his country. As mayor of New-York, 
he has upheld the character of the state, as well as 
that of the city — assisting our unfortunate country- 
men when in distress, and doing away the strong 
prejudices of foreigners, by the most agreeable at- 
tentions and generous hospitality. 

I have also visited the celebrated Dr. M., whose 
reputation for learning is so universal and well ac- 
knowledged abroad. I found him seated at his 
table, amidst heaps of letters from every part of the 
world. The Doctor received me very graciously, 
and immediately asked after Sir Humphrey Davy. 
I gratified him at once with all the information I 
possessed, and particularly in relation to the ma- 
nuscripts which he is endeavouring to unrol. He 
took notes of what I said, as I believe he does on 
most occasions. I was not long with him before I 



OR, LETTERS FROM NEW-YORK. 13 

became convinced of his prodigious attainments. 
Indeed his house was a museum, and his study a 
cabinet of philosophical wonders. While I was 
with him, persons were constantly calling with pre- 
sents and curiosities, and his opinion was eagerly 
asked for by them all. His geological exactness 
astonished me. He was familiar with all the varie- 
ties of earths and minerals ; remembered the position 
and dip of their strata, and with a surprising memory 
seemed to know every thing of interest, " from 
Zembla to the pole." I must acknowledge, al- 
though very unwillingly, that we have very few 
persons at home who deserve even the honour of 
parallelism with him in the universality and sound- 
ness of his acquirements. 

And yet how strangely has nature rendered her 
own works incomplete ! With what fantastic forms 
does she crown her noblest monuments ! However 
lofty the precipice, and grand the elevation, we often 
see them capped with the most fantastic summits. 
The cliff that bids defiance to the raging billows 
below, loses its adamantine character amid the gen- 
tle winds of heaven. Man is not less an example 
of this inconsistency. The hero, " at whose name 
the world grew pale," sank into effeminacy in the 
lap of Cleopatra. The statesman who projected 
the coalition of nations, and by a single effort 
2 



14 AN ENGLISHMAN'S SKETCH-BOOK; 

changed the whole policy of peace or war, became 
at length a victim to his own intemperate desires. 
So the man who possesses the most gigantic acquire- 
ments, may, notwithstanding his strength, become, 
like Sampson, the sport of fools. 



OR, LETTERS FROM NEW-YORK. 15 



LETTER II. 



Duke. — Alas ! our glory is departing, 

To settle on the head of this young house. 

The Ghibelins. 



My dear I , 

As these sketches are intended to illustrate the 
mental progress of this country, and to give you 
some ideas of her statesmen and scholars, fettered 
by no restrictions, and unsupported by particular 
patronage, you will forgive me, if, for the more in- 
teresting subjects connected with them, I should 
sometimes forget her landscapes and her groves. 

The literary taste of New-York is fast improving. 
Its institutions are all prosperous, and if they have 
not the colossal magnitude of our academies, they 
have the more useful proportions of real life — are 
more within the reach of study, and more within the 



16 AN englishman's sketch-book ; 

sphere of every-day utility. The medical schools 
are fast rising into notice, and the profession, which 
here knows not the distinction common to our coun- 
try, between the prescriber of medicines, and him 
who makes them up, is highly skilful and respecta- 
ble. The medical men of this country possess or- 
dinarily much talent and information, adding to a 
nice knowledge of theory the simple and irrefutable 
results of practice. Quackery, though not confined 
to any portion of the globe, has not become in this 
country so common as in ours. The thousand tricks 
of charlatans and empirics, so common in the old 
world, are almost unknown in the new. The me- 
dical publications of New- York are edited by men 
of talent, and have a fair share of patronage. 

In Painting, the Americans are doing wonders. 
From an actual acquaintance with some of their art- 
ists in England, you must be sensible how much we 
have to expect from their competition, how much to 
fear from their generous rivalry. Need I name a New- 
ton, Alston, Leslie, Sargeant,Vanderlyn, and Morse, 
who have all been abroad ? There are numbers of 
young artists coming forward in New-York, among 
whom I heard mentioned with distinction the names 
oflngham, Inman, and others. There is a very neat 
building for the exhibition of panoramic paintings 
in this city, called the Rotunda, and a large build* 



OR, LETTERS FROM NEW-YORK. 17 

ing in the Park, called the New- York Institution, 
devoted to the Arts, where (in a very bad light, 
however,) I found some very good paintings. These 
are partly owned by the institution, and partly sent 
at request from private collections for exhibition. 
Among the number I saw the early productions of 
West, the natural groups of Teniers, the tints of 
Guido, and the pure sweet simplicity of Caracci. The 
portrait of West, by our great master, Sir Thomas 
Lawrence, is expected over early in the spring. 

The Americans cannot be expected to have many- 
extensive collections of pictures. Europe is still the 
great mart for them ; and where it is so much the 
rage to procure antiques without regard to price, 
it is not easy to draw them across the Atlantic. 
Spurious copies will for a long time be palmed off 
upon the cognoscenti. 

The bar is, however, making the most rapid ad- 
vances to celebrity. The manifest superiority of 
the gentlemen attached to it has struck me ever 
since I landed. I had hardly set foot to earth, ere 
I discovered the importance of the profession ; and 
a longer acquaintance with the country confirms me 
in the opinion of its widely-extended influence. — 
Nor does it suffer by comparison. 1 do not remem- 
ber any very great men at present at the English 
bar. The presiding judges of the king's bench, 



18 an englishman's sketch-book; 

and common pleas, are scarcely known beyond 
the purview of Westminster. Lord Ellenborough 
has been somewhat conspicuous in his legal ca- 
reer, but he leaned too much to the preroga- 
tives of office, and was too much on the crown 
side of an argument to be a " righteous judge." 
The king's bench and his majesty's common pleas, 
are, in my opinion, sustained chiefly by the brilliant 
periods of their former history. We have the me- 
mories of Coke and Hale, Salkeld, Holt and Black- 
stone, to console, and their opinions to guide us — 
but enough left, heaven knows, of the undeserving 
and the undistinguished. 

The lawyers of New-York have much greater op- 
portunity for display than our bashful templars. 
There is no such thing here as eating through your 
terms, before you are called to the bar. Seven 
years of study, four of which are devoted to the 
classics, must be passed. Then a certificate from 
an attorney of the remaining three years' service as 
a clerk in his office, entitles the candidate to a pub- 
lic examination by three counsellors appointed by 
the judges at term. If it be favourable, he is ad- 
mitted and sworn, and passes at once into active 
business, with the privilege of being heard in the 
inferior courts. Three years' practice entitles him 
to the rank of counsel, and then a vast field is open 



OR, LETTERS FROM NEW-YORK. 19 

to his ambition. He plunges into the thickest of 
the fight, and enters into the contest with the oldest 
veterans at the bar. Besides this privilege, of which 
we know nothing in England, the New-York jurists 
at once become legislators. Our constitution is 
fixed, our customs are ascertained, our principles 
are determined. Whether our government, formed 
by the slow and patchwork operations of time, or a 
new one raised at once and primarily upon the equal 
and immutable principles of justice, be most desira- 
ble, is not for me to determine. The rise of nations, 
after all, is accidental, and has generally been con- 
sidered such. A lucky circumstance seems to con- 
trol their destinies, and the world is indebted to 
some unforeseen event for the most brilliant strokes 
of character, and the most valuable of human insti- 
tutions. Some particular and often personal interest, 
leads to the enactment of laws. " The twelve ta- 
bles" of the Romans, upon which all the civil law 
reposed, were the result of petty intrigue and the 
desire of distinction ; and the Conquest is with us the 
origin of our tenures, and gave its peculiar features 
to our law. Of our system it may be said, that at 
length we have provided for all possible violation 
of rights, and commission of wrongs. Between our 
statutes and the common law, very few offences 
escape. If our process be fictitious, it is never- 



20 an englishman's sketch-book; 

theless effectual ; and if our principles be feudal 
ones, they have at least softened down to a perfect 
equality of remedies. 

The American bar, in which New-York takes 
rank, has the peculiar advantage of being able to 
obviate, by new laws and decisions adapted to their 
national character, the abstruse distinctions which 
follow some of our mooted points. 

Their books of practice are proofs of many rea- 
sonable innovations upon the common law ; although, 
upon proper occasions, their professional men are 
extremely tenacious of first principles. The delays 
of an English law-suit would cause in America the 
" very stones to rise in mutiny." Every revision of 
their statutes leads to greater simplicity of construc- 
tion. 

Among the most celebrated lawyers in the state 
of New- York, are Mr. E— t, Mr. W— s, Mr. H— y, 
and Mr. O — . Mr. E., the friend of Irish liberty, is 
very much admired in the country of his adoption. 
He is very eloquent, and engages warmly for his 
client. Every allusion is classical, and he seems 
to have at instant command all the best associations 
of ideas, all the precision of logical arrangement, 
and all the chasteness of delicate allusion. His 
countenance discovers the workings of his mind. 
He bites his under lip, and his eyes flash fire. His 



OR, LETTERS FROM NEW-YORK. 21 

characteristic in argument is his resorting to the 
original reasons and policy of the law as applica- 
ble to the case before him. He grants his antago- 
nist the full force of his statements, by a kind of in- 
genuous acknowledgment ; but hapless is he who 
meets with such acknowledgments at his hand. 
After allowing him the full authority of his brief, he 
soon convinces all who hear him, that by going 
further back, and by a deeper analysis of principles 
and the history connected with them, other, stronger, 
and overwhelming reasons arise to overturn the 
weak defences of his adversary. Mr. E — 's speeches 
in vindication of Mr. Fulton's rights are said to 
have been very great. They were delivered in the 
character of counsel at the bar of the assembly, or 
lower house of representatives of this state, and in 
the presence of his illustrious friend. At the close 
of his argument, replete with philosophy and elo- 
quence, he drew tears not only from his audience, 
but from Mr. Fulton himself, who wept at the pros- 
pect of his country's ingratitude, and the future 
helplessness of his children. " In a few years," 
said Mr. E., " you, my friend, may become the vic- 
tim of an ingratitude no less accursed than that 
which proscribed the illustrious Grecian. Some en- 
vious and skeptical reasoner may arise to doubt the 
legislative powers of your country, and for ever de- 



22 AN englishman's sketch-book; 

stroy the fair fabric you have erected at the expense 
of so much toil and treasure. Ah, my friend," 
said he, turning to Mr. F., " let no dreams deceive 
your ardent mind — dismiss even your well-ground- 
ed hopes. The wreath that crowns your head is al- 
ready beset with thorns — the garden of your fancy, 
in which your perseverance was just beginning to 
be repaid, where the roses of your own creation 
were springing up around your dwelling, where 
the fruit of your genius was ripening to your hand 
— this garden is no longer yours ! Its hedges are 
broken down — the spoiler has already entered your 
little Eden — entered, did I say ? — it is already 
trampled upon — it is desolate and waste." 

I was particularly pleased with a late introduc- 
tion to the chancellor of the state. Accustomed as 
I have been to the wig — the rich robe, and pompous 
diction of my lord at home, judge of my surprise 
on being seized by the hand of a very plainly dress- 
ed and quick speaking man. To my respectful in- 
quiries I received the most rapidly enunciated an- 
swers. A torrent of remark completely overpower- 
ed me, and I had no time for explanation amidst his 
precipitate interrogatories. Yet how unjust should 
I have been if I had pronounced at that time on 
his merits and character. He is not only a well 
read, but a learned man — general literature and the 



OR, LETTERS FROM NEW-YORK. 23 

study of the law employ the whole of his time — his 
private character is not only spotless, but unsuspect- 
ed. I blush when I think that some of our greatest 
lawyers were not free from reproach ; and in the 
great example to which I allude, I must acknow- 
ledge we are far outdone. Bacon was bribed, 
Saunders drank, and Thurlow was licentious. 

His industry and application are intense ; his pa- 
tience is untiring; his judgment is quick, yet solid; 
his opinions are masterly and conclusive. He has, 
with infinite trouble and research, by a complete 
analysis and arrangement of principles, created, as 
it were, a code of equity — every case is traced to its 
origin — the law is fully explained, and upon the 
subject before him, nothing more can be said. He 
has raised his own monument — posterity will only 
have to admire its form and durability. It is sup- 
posed that he will still further elucidate the prin- 
ciples of American law at some future day : but the 
productions that are already ascribed to him are 
sufficient to establish his reputation. The words 
of the poet seem peculiarly applicable to this cele- 
brated man ; and it is for him to exclaim, 

Exegi monumentum cere perennius, 
Regalique situ pyramidum altius 
Quod non imber edax non aquilo impotens 
Possit diruere, aut innumerabilis 
Annorum series, et fuga temporum. 



24 AN ENGLISHMAN'S SKETCH-BOOK; 



LETTER III. 



I speak of travels, and have seen fine towns, 
But I had rather look at a man's heart. 

The Pedlar. 



My dear I , 

I have lately visited Philadelphia with very great 
satisfaction. I left New-York about three weeks 
since in the Bellona steam packet, at eleven o'clock 
in the morning, with a large number of fellow pas- 
sengers. Among these, through the politeness of 
my friend Mr. W., I made some agreeable acquaint- 
ances. I always experience upon such excursions 
a very pleasant sensation ; and as you are a lover 
of the picturesque, you can better imagine it than 
I describe. A pleasant day and a fine air upon the 
water are doubly relished, when the sunshine that 



OR, LETTERS FROM NEW-YORK. 25 

surrounds us is to light up distant hills, and the 
canvass is swelling with the breeze that is about to 
carry us away. 

For my own part, I think that a change of resi- 
dence and the spirit of travel, make us truly catho- 
lic in our feelings, as well as tolerant in our princi- 
ples ; and at this time I fancied they imparted to our 
bosoms a warmer glow and a heartfelt pressure to 
every hand. 

The American steam boats are generally larger 
than ours, and have heretofore been more con- 
venient and agreeable. Within a year, how r ever, I 
believe we have equalled, if not surpassed them in 
many particulars ; yet an American steam boat has 
a thousand lit 'e contrivances above deck that we 
know nothing of at home. We left dock at the 
usual hour, and went down the bay in very hand- 
some style about seven miles, when we took the 
right hand passage round Staten Island, called the 
Kills, entered the Raritan river, and winding our 
way through marsh and low land, approached at 
about three o'clock in the afternoon the ancient 
city of New Brunswick. Here the river seemed 
scarcely wide or deep enough to float a cockle shell, 
and even the little Nautilus might have been in dan- 
ger of shipwreck, but our boat, with an amphibious 
velocity, seemed at one time to paddle through the 
3 



62 an englishman's sketch-book; 

deep water, and at the next moment to be creeping 
safely over the bottom. 

We were landed at a mean looking wharf, which 
the recess of the tide had completely disclosed to 
view, and by the aid of tickets were numbered and 
stowed away without regard to size, in the oval 
vacuum of a claret-coloured post coach, and whip- 
ped over the worst of roads through Princeton to 
Trenton. 

New Brunswick has a very dull appearance to 
the eye of a traveller. The town seems to be scat- 
tered over the surface of a sand hill, which is doom- 
ed to perpetual sterility. At Princeton I saw the 
celebrated college from which so many eminent 
men have been sent, and which survived the ravages 
of our stupid Hessians in the war of the revolution. 
Its appearance is venerable, but the hand of taste 
has not yet fashioned it to beauty. I observed a 
crowd of fashionable young men about the hotel, 
and many were seated on benches and chairs under 
the green foliage at the door, where, in the language 
of the complaining Moelibeus, the " Tu patulse re- 
cubans sub tegmine fagi," seemed to be construed 
and enjoyed in the spirit of our own universities. 

At Trenton, a large, old-fashioned town, we had 
a moonlight view of the river Delaware. This town 
is at present the seat of government. It recalled to 






OR, LETTERS FROM NEW-YORK. 27 

my remembrance the cold winter night, when a half- 
famished and frozen army crossed on the ice, and 
dashed with such gallantry upon the German corps 
commanded by the astonished Kniphausen — when 
these warmly clothed and well fed mercenaries re- 
coiled under the severity of the attack, and our com- 
mander was amazed at a surprise so contrary to the 
general mechanism of his European tactics. The 
spirit of Washington dictated the enterprise, and the 
result was truly fatal to our cause. To this single 
affair many sensible persons have attributed the de- 
cline of our arms in America; and as I stood on the 
very spot where the action was maintained, I felt 
with the force of truth the reality of the memorable 
event. 

In the morning the sound of a bell hurried us to 
the steam packet Philadelphia, which lay at the 
wharf below the bridge, and we found a number of 
plainly and neatly dressed Quakers on board. The 
boat was very clean and in fine order, and carried 
us rapidly along. Just opposite to Trenton is the 
former domain of the celebrated Moreau — here he 
planned new scenes of enterprise, which it had been 
happy for him if he had for ever laid aside. This 
view was however soon lost to us by the rapidity of 
our motion. For about ten miles the Delaware was 
very uninteresting ; but as we approached Phila- 



28 AN englishman's sketch-book; 

delphia the scenery assumed a most beautiful ap- 
pearance. At Bordentown we caught a glimpse of 
Joseph Bonaparte's residence. It crowns the sum- 
mit of a high point of land, which at the time of 
day we saw it threw a heavy mass of shadow on the 
water. The house is surrounded with trees and 
shrubbery, and the grounds are beautifully laid out. 
Rustic bridges, a high white paling and shrubbery 
of countless varieties meet your eye as you pass it on 
the road to Amboy. Surrounded by every com- 
fort that an ample fortune can provide, he seems to 
have withdrawn from the cares of ambition, and the 
desire of again mingling with the politics of Eu- 
rope seems to have entirely left him. 

Bristol is a lovely village, and seems to be the 
residence of " health, peace and competence." 
From this place to Point-no-point, the finest coun- 
try houses, lawns and terraces, ornamented with 
busts and statues, meet the eye. The banks of the 
river close to the water's edge admit of cultivation, 
and the hand of taste has seized upon this advan- 
tage. But after all, this delightful prospect, and 
these beautiful scenes, were not accompanied by ap- 
pearances of commercial prosperity. There was a 
melancholy silence on the river, which was almost 
wholly uninterrupted. In the whole distance from 
Trenton to Philadelphia we did not pass more than 



OR, LETTERS FROM NEW-YORK. 29 

half a dozen batteaux and two or three sloops. A 
solemn stillness reigned over the waters of the Dela- 
ware, and the busy hum of industry was no where 
heard. There appeared to be but very little excite- 
ment in the marginal counties, and agriculture 
seemed not to have ventured forth with her produc- 
tions. How different has the Hudson appeared when 
subsequently I was a voyager on its waves ! Hun- 
dreds of vessels, richly and deeply laden, were 
pressing towards New-York with every sail set to 
the wind. We passed flourishing towns, large ship- 
yards, manufactories and mills. Fleets of river 
craft, with valuable cargoes, met us as they were 
returning home, with their heavy canvass swelling 
to the breeze. Every thing was joyful — every one 
active. The wharves along the banks were crowd- 
ed — vessels were every moment arriving and taking 
their departure. In short, I was irresistibly im- 
pressed with a sense of the vast extent of the inland 
navigation, the wealth of the interior, the immense 
demand for, and supplies of staple articles, and the 
enormous amount of the public receipts. On the 
other hand, the Delaware presented a dull mo- 
notony, and apparently became the thoroughfare of 
commerce only when it passed the city of Philadel- 
phia. We saw a few empty batteaux under the lee 
of a small island, which had been well nigh swamp- 
3* 



30 AN englishman's sketch-book ; 

ed by the swell of our vessel as we passed, and their 
owners were cooking their breakfasts on the shore, 
with a look of comfortless indifference. We ob- 
served no indications of prosperity on our whole 
passage — not a dollar passed us for the public re- 
venue. We reached town at 12 o'clock in the 
morning, and having landed, drove immediately to 
Renshaw's hotel. I must reserve my remarks on 
the public buildings and the many pleasing exhibi- 
tions which are found in Philadelphia, until I shall 
have made a second visit. I was very much pleased 
with the cleanness of the streets, the fine appearance 
of the houses, the noble air of the banks ; but was 
struck with the silence which pervaded the city. 
The markets were the only places where the bustle 
of business could be observed. 

I had the pleasure of seeing the celebrated Mr. 
Pinckney of Baltimore, who lately died to the great 
regret of his countrymen. I heard some curious 
particulars (for which I cannot entirely vouch) re- 
lating to his manner and peculiarities. He was of 
small stature and delicate frame, but the strength of 
his mind broke over the feebleness of his constitu- 
tion. Its powerful influence was not confined by 
the narrowness of its house, but it was felt among 
men, dispensing light, and life, and liberty. It is 
said that he was very attentive to his dress; and at 



OR, LETTERS FROM NEW-YORK. 31 

the bar kept on his gloves and twirled his rattan. 
He was not a ready speaker, nor was he able, at a 
moment's warning, to enter the field of debate. His 
speeches were all written. He read them sheet by 
sheet, advancing to and retiring from the table al- 
ternately, as he finished one and commenced ano- 
ther. He did his country great service abroad as 
a negociator, and his memory will long be cherish- 
ed for his virtues, his talents, and integrity. 

I had also the unexpected gratification of meet- 
ing Mr. Wirt, the attorney general of the United 
States. He has a commanding person, and although 
large, is well proportioned. His countenance is 
full of expression, and discovers great sensibility 
of mind. He distinguished himself when young, 
by a series of letters called the Old Bachelor, and 
more recently by a work entitled the British Spy. 
In his present office, he has given general satisfac- 
tion to the public, and afforded many valuable 
proofs of eloquence and legal acquirements. Mr. 
W.'s origin is very humble, and he owes his present 
elevation solely to himself. 

There is in this happy country such a field for 
the display of honourable ambition, that I do not 
wonder at the talents which every day calls forth 
into action, nor at the devotedness with which this 
republican government is cherished. A long line 



32 an englishman's sketch-book; 

of ancestors is here no pledge of present responsi- 
bility. It is the absolute and actual worth of the 
man, which is here taken into account. To use a 
figure, the political contest is free to every combat- 
ant. No barriers of sect or condition are taken 
down to give him entrance, nor is any one requir- 
ed to bring an escutcheon with him into the field. 
Every one may measure his strength with his oppo- 
nent's, in honorable competition. Success follows 
genius, if it has deserved success ; and here, as in 
former times, amidst the crowd of suitors for fame 
and fortune, the vigor of the arm and the strength 
of the bow alone proclaim the true Ulysses. 

True it is, that the envious and discontented, the 
factious and the proud, may sometimes, by artful 
management and seductive flattery, keep up a hate- 
ful coalition against the man whose talents they are 
forced to acknowledge. The exigency, however, 
soon arrives, and there will be many such in this 
country, when a combination of dunces can no 
longer be kept together, and the talents they would 
proscribe are again required and forced into action, 
" to save a sinking land." Merit is, therefore, safe ; 
and with such incitements and such opportunity 
for the ambitious, such success and such honour for 
the deserving, this country must one day be first in 
arts and arms. To her it must be left to pronounce 



OR, LETTERS FROM NEW-YORK. 33 

our eulogium, when our Athens shall have moulder- 
ed, and her temples have decayed. While her 
sons, animated by great and noble desires, and urg- 
ed by a splendid destiny to deeds without a parallel, 
shall " mount up like eagles, shall run and not be 
weary, and walk and not faint." 

Yours. 



34 AN englishman's sketch-book; 



LETTER IV. 



From Marlboro's eyes the tears of dotage flow, 
And Swift expires a driv'ler and a show ! 

Dr. Johnson. 
" Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori." 



My Dear I , 

The spirit of curiosity accompanies me still. 
The same feeling which would have taken you to 
Beaconsfield or Strawberry hill, dictated my pre- 
sent visit to the pleasant little village of Jamaica. 
It is situated on Long Island, at twelve miles dis- 
tance from New-York, and is a place of much re- 
sort during the hot months. I spent several days 
in its vicinity with great satisfaction, and gave full 
scope to my fondness for scenery, in the islands and 
bays, and in the deep shady dells, which are to be 
found on the island. I shot ducks at Fireplace — 



OR, LETTERS FROM NEW-YORK. 35 

I caught perch in Success pond, on the top of a 
hill — I rode over Hempstead plains, and bathed 
my tired limbs in the surf at Rockaway. All 
these have their place in my note book, and when 
we have nothing else to employ our leisure mo- 
ments, you shall hear what may be called my sport- 
ing history. 

I have just seen the celebrated Mr. K. who has 
made a figure in the political affairs of his country. 
A long career of public service not yet closed, has 
proved highly honourable to him. Yet a very 
great difference of opinion exists with regard to his 
political conduct. You shall have a brief analysis 
of what is said by his friends and enemies — 

il Tros Tyrius ve mihi nullo discrimine agetur." 

While some persons contend that Mr. K. is an un- 
rivalled diplomatist, and that his career abroad was 
a splendid one, others assert, with equal warmth, 
that it was weak and indecisive. The former al- 
lege that his eloquent appeals to the justice of our 
court, and his great suavity of manner, made him 
truly powerful at St. James. The latter maintain 
that the fascinations of royalty prevailed over his 
strength of mind, and that he flattered like Car- 
neades, when he should have been undaunted like 
Regulus. The former, and particularly the friends 



36 an englishman's sketch-book; 

of the Irish, say jthat he prevented many unfortu- 
nate patriots from coming to this country, whose 
only crime was their love of liberty, and whose 
only alternative was death or exile ; the latter per- 
sist in defending a conduct which was calculated, 
they observe, to prevent similar revolutions at home. 

All agree, however, that when the subject came 
up before the senate of the United States, and was 
discussed with much warmth as well as talent, whe- 
ther slavery could or could not exist, and whether 
its infection could be confined to latitude or longi- 
tude, Mr. K., in a series of masterly and conclusive 
arguments, demonstrated the absurdity and inhu- 
manity of the position. Although his arguments 
were conclusive in themselves, they availed nothing, 
where the political bearing of the question was al- 
ready ascertained. The people, so often the pack- 
horses of party, were made to carry the heavy load 
by artful allusions to the constitution ; and the long 
preponderating influence of the south, gained new 
and powerful additions from the west. 

Mr. K. is, however, growing old, and his former 
strength of character is much impaired. If he has 
not always been consistent with himself, no one 
doubts the sincerity of his attachment to his coun- 
try. Happy should I be if I could ascribe sin- 
cerity or consistency to all British statesmen. 



OR, LETTERS FROM NEW-YORK. 37 

But here, alas ! the most melancholy recollections 
assail me. From the example I have just given you, I 
turn with sorrow to the errors of our own politi- 
cians. I disclaim the mad policy of radicalism, but I 
shrink from the corruption of the aristocracy. I pass 
over the means by which our courtiers pimp them- 
selves into power, and the secrets which belong to 
their rise to fortune. The anger of a royal mistress 
kept the dean of St. Patrick's in retirement, and 
the integrity of Waldegrave was a virtue that could 
not flourish at court. Walpole and North are speci- 
mens of too common occurrence to be more than 
merely alluded to, as proofs of what have been. 
But I look back with pleasure to the spotless puri- 
ty of Chatham. In public life, he was true to his 
trust, in private life he was faithful to his principles ! 
His eloquence was forcible ; his arguments were 
syllogisms ; his opinions, truth ; his anticipations, 
prophecy. The stoic of his age, he looked upon 
life as the theatre of virtuous action, and was him- 
self a spectacle " upon which the Gods might have 
looked down with pleasure." Neither disease 
nor old age seemed to have balanced him a moment 
against the duties which he owed to himself and 
country. His closing scene was as splendid as his 
earlier efforts had been sublime. I can imagine 
the old man borne by his friends into that hall 
4 



38 an englishman's sketch-book; 

where the good and great men of the nation had so 
often on similar occasions contended for the liber- 
ties of man. The whole house is in commotion — 
" corruption trembles through all the ranks of her 
venality." With a majesty of voice that approach- 
ing death cannot overpower ; a graceful and animat- 
ed manner that disease has not destroyed; the deep 
expression of his eye, which kindles with new zeal 
for the " desolate and the oppressed ;" the melo- 
dy of his periods, which, like the swan's, are sweet- 
er as the fatal hour approaches ; " carry away cap- 
tive" all the best feelings of the heart. The minis- 
try, conscience struck, make no reply. Every 
word sinks them deeper — deeper still. With the 
anxiety of the trembling wretch, who expects his 
momentary condemnation, they hear in despair an 
inevitable destiny pronounced to them, " my lords, 
you cannot conquer America." 

This appeal was final — death summoned him to 
the assembly of the just, as he closed his remon- 
strance ; and he seemed to carry with him to ano- 
ther tribunal, (for he obeyed the summons a few 
days afterwards) the record of the wrongs of his 
fellow countrymen, and of his own matchless efforts 
in their cause. 

Such a man reconciles us to life. He gives a 
glow to narrative, and a truth to poetry, which seem 



39 



only to have belonged to " the simple annals of the 
poor." He seems to have lived to prove the exist- 
ence of virtue, the power of talents, the strength 
of integrity, the reality of patriotism, and the force 
of example. " Recorded honours shall thicken 
round his monument. It is a solid fabric, and will 
support the laurels that adorn it." 

From the character of Fox, splendid as in some 
respects it was, the moral man turns with a feeling 
of regret. A wasted patrimony, ruined health, 
and profligate habits, are but sad mementos of his 
character. His memory is clouded with inconsis- 
tency, extravagance, the love of play, and habits 
of licentiousness. Let his errors sleep in the grave. 
The world will acknowledge his talents, but truth 
puts her finger to her lips and is silent. 

Notwithstanding the many prejudices by which 
the people of this country are led, (and prejudice 
is here the secret of party) there is a genuine and 
substantial patriotism in this country which has no 
parallel in history. It illumined the philosophy of 
Franklin, it shines in the philanthropy of Clinton. 
Of this latter person I will give you a more par- 
ticular sketch when I shall become better acquaint- 
ed with the details of his life. Suffice it to say, 
that he is one of the most splendid men in personal 
and mental attractions of this or any other age. 



40 AN ENGLISHMAN'S SKETCH-BOOK; 

The deeds which friendship and gratitude have 
achieved, are oases in the desert of life, upon which 
romance sustains its existence ; but to give up for- 
tune, to forsake friends, and to lay down life, for the 
sake of general principles, is a sublime effort of the 
heart, the noblest triumph of humanity. It bears 
examination at every point, and loses nothing by dis- 
tance or perspective. This is the charm of the re- 
volutionary patriotism of this country. It was for 
the happiness of the many, and not the advance- 
ment of the few, that so much was ventured by the 
patriots of America. 

The waterspout is grand — it is truly a pillar of 
the heavens, but it is the shower, with its more 
widely spread blessings, which freshens every bud 
and blossom, and imparts to exhausted nature new 
fragrance and fertility. 

Yours. 



OR, LETTERS FROM NEW-YORK. 41 



LETTER V. 



A horse, a horse ! my kingdom for a horse. 

Richard III. 
Lady Lightfoot against the field. 

Si-eeper's Prolegomena. 



My dear I ., 

This last was the cry of many a knowing one at 
the late bang-up races in the county of Queens. 
By reference to the map you will perceive, that 
Queens is a county of Long Island, opposite New- 
York. Having gone out of town to taste the fresh 
air of the spring, and to wander over the enamelled 
meads of the country, I only returned to the city 
on the second morning of the races, and lost all 
the fine running on the day previous, of the cele- 
brated American horse Eclipse. A friend of mine 
from whom I had already received many civilities, 
4* 



42 AN englishman's sketch-book; 

being ripe for sport, proposed a ride to the scene of 
action. A coach was called, and whip was order- 
ed to put his cattle to their full speed. You have 
seen the crowds which throng the roads to New- 
market, all anxious to see the king's plate won in 
good style. Believe me, they were not less dense 
on the present occasion, when, although five hun- 
dred dollars only were to be gained, some very fine 
horses were entered for the purse. The by-bets 
were of course the principal desiderata of the club. 
With much difficulty we got on board the ferry- 
boat, a large vessel open at each end to facilitate 
the entrance and passage out of wagons, which 
moves equally well in either direction, by the force 
of steam. We landed on the opposite side of the 
East river, at Brooklyn, a large town situated on 
its banks, and immediately fell into the line of car- 
riages that were also moving on. After being nigh 
suffocation with dust, and an hour's ride, we per- 
ceived the crowd becoming more compact on our 
right. Looking over half a dozen meadows, we 
caught the first glimpse of the course, and saw a 
number of extemporaneous buildings, with flags 
flying in all directions. We reached the gate with- 
out accident, though not without imposition, for 
our hackman was one of a class of men that are 
conspicuous for their violations of honesty, and 



OR, LETTERS FROM NEW-YORK. 43 

who continue in the city of New-York, in spite of 
all the rules which the common councils have made, 
to extort, by every species of fraud, double, triple, 
and quadruple fare from their passengers. 

The course was something over a measured mile, 
very smooth and even. The starting place was 
well secured by rope fences, and distinguished 
moreover by a Newmarket affair of a house, 
which peered above the rest, and was the station 
of the judges. Five or six horses were this day 
competitors, and amongst them was the Lady 
Lightfoot, a celebrated southern mare, which had 
been beaten the year before by Eclipse, and was, 
if possible, to recover her character by her good 
conduct to-day. Eclipse was not at this time, 
however, her rival, and the partialities that accom- 
pany the different latitudes were at this time partly 
allayed. From the circumstance that the course 
was to be run almost entirely by southern horses, 
even the knowing ones of the north expressed a 
hearty wish for her success. Betting was carried 
on to a large amount, and many a sportsman of the 
north staked his cash and his credit on "the Lady." 
The horses appeared to have blood and figure, and 
to be in good condition. The running was very 
showy, but not so close as I anticipated, though the 
distance was done in a very few minutes. The Lady 



44 an englishman's sketch-book; 

Lightfoot distanced all the other horses, and took 
the purse. In a few minutes a cavalcade of mount- 
ed gentlemen were arranged in procession by the 
managers, and the black jockey, who rode the 
winning horse, and throughout showed fine skill 
and excellent courage, was placed at the head, and 
like 

" A gentle knight, came pricking o'er the plain." 

There were many fine horses on the ground, and 
some driving that would have taken in Piccadilly. 
I saw one or two persons, however, at a complete 
stand-still, and some leaders balking their drivers 
in spite of all the silk profusely laid on by their 
magnanimous reinsmen, and in perfect defiance of 
the splitmes and demmes which descended like fine 
hail on their devoted heads. Hundreds of elegant 
women of the first consideration and fashion were 
on the field, and many a fair face was interested in 
the sport of the day. There is, however, no com- 
parison between the Union course and that at New- 
market. I learned that horse races are permitted 
in this county by a special act of the legislature, 
but in no other in the state, and here every restric- 
tion is imposed to preserve good order and peace. 
There are many prejudices existing against horse 
racing in this country, which nothing but time will 



OR, LETTERS FROM NEW-YORK. 45 

eradicate. It is no doubt to be attributed to the 
moral feeling of the nation ; but it is indispensable 
to the interests of the community, that the best of 
horses should be raised for its use in peace or war. 
By cherishing a proper spirit of competition, guard- 
ed by proper laws, you get fine horses for the 
plough and for draught, for exportation and for 
pleasure. 

The Americans are very proud of their trotting 
horses, and have, as I am informed, taken great 
credit to themselves for the feats of some common 
looking horses, which were lately sent over to Eng- 
land from the United States. They excel us in the 
speed of their trotting horses, but not of those for 
the race. I have frequently taken the lower cushion 
of my friend's tilbury, and have been driven a mile 
in three minutes. I have myself driven ten miles an 
hour, for several hours in succession without diffi- 
culty. This is good going, but every gentleman in 
the country who pretends to keep horses has some 
amongst them remarkable for their fast travelling. 
This taste is prevalent with the proprietors of the 
stage coaches. Horses of excellent bottom are 
driven in their lines, and in good weather a hun- 
dred miles are travelled in a day, relays being pro- 
vided at different parts of the post route, at about 
fifteen miles distance from each other. During one 



46 AN ENGLISHMAN'S SKETCH-BOOK; 

year there were driven in one team on the Philadel- 
phia route together, four horses, each of whom 
could trot a mile in three minutes. The Arabian 
breed does not seem to have improved the American 
by the mixture of blood, while some beautiful ani- 
mals have been raised without difficulty, from judi- 
cious selections of English stock. The Canadian 
pony is very common in the northern states, and 
for strength, apparently in inverse ratio to his size, 
is very famous. The use of mules is not general. 
Their proverbial stubbornness is still an argument 
against them. I cannot omit, since I am on this 
subject, to notice the total neglect of gait and mo- 
tion in the breaking of horses in this country. The 
menage is entirely unknown. Of the works of 
Signor Pignatelli, the celebrated Italian horseman, 
and our Duke of Newcastle, the great master of 
horsemanship, they positively know nothing. As 
to breaking a horse to certain paces, upon the square 
or circle, teaching him to lead off in a bold and 
correct manner, making him supple in the shoul- 
ders, moving him in two pistes or parallel lines, 
and giving him an elegant movement in whatever 
pace you give him, are as new to them as to the 
aborigines themselves. Taplin is in every one's 
hand, but of the " witchery of noble horsemanship," 
very little is known. 



OR, LETTERS FROM NEW-YORK. 47 

The blacksmiths are a very inconsiderate, if not 
cruel, race of men — a hot shoe burns itself into the 
horse's hoof — immense nails are driven through in 
all directions, and the iron rim of the shoe projects 
outwards from the foot to the extent of half an inch. 
In short, they are perfectly Cyclopian in their busi- 
ness. 

At the livery stables you perceive the " gentle- 
men'' of the establishment smoking segars in the 
yard, and after some entreaty you are permitted to 
take a horse at an extravagant price. You ask for 
a saddle horse, and one is brought out to you that a 
moment before had been ruining his paces before a 
gig. A heavy trot, and an insufferable jolting 
await you. In vain you rise in the stirrup to catch 
at slower removes the insupportable motion of your 
steed. You are shaken to pieces, and for a week 
afterwards have reason to repent your credulity. 

Do you want a gig horse with a round, brisk and 
lively trot, and a handsome carriage of legs ? You 
set out in the pleasing anticipation of your ride, 
over fine roads, and amidst beautiful scenery — Alas ! 
you are soon recalled to other contemplations by 
the capriols and demi volts of the animal, in defiance 
of shafts, harness and reins. This is too often the 
case, and can not be remedied, but by an early 
attention to horses when young and docile, and 
a methodical and scientific treatment of them. 



48 AN englishman's sketch-book; 

The Americans are generally fine natural horse- 
men, without grace, but with much coolness and 
boldness. Some of my friends here are striking 
examples of this fact ; but one of them is all I could 
wish. With a steady hand, a firm yet easy seat, a 
nice feeling of the horse's mouth, and with courage 
to carry him through all dangers, he brings to mind 
the story of the ancient centaurs. Like them, at a 
distance, he appears to be incorporated with the 
animal, and each seems to accommodate himself to 
the other. His skill and gracefulness are equally 
apparent and striking. 

In short, a good horseman is an useful member 
of society. Lives have been saved, and kingdoms 
lost and won, by the proper use and management 
of a horse. Yours. 



OR, LETTERS FROM NEW-YORK. 49 



LETTER VI. 



" Truths would you teach to save a sinking land. 
All hear — none aid you, and but few understand. 



My dear I , 

On recurring to my notes, I find that I have 
overlooked the memoranda, which a short tour to 
Albany during the last fall enabled me to make, on 
the occasion of a celebrated political convention. 
This was a body of representatives chosen by 
the people of the state of New-York, who met 
at the seat of government for the purpose of alter- 
ing the existing constitution, and whose acts were 
to determine for a long time to come the political 
ascendancy of the prevailing party. I remained 
in the city for several weeks, in order to hear the 
5 



50 AN ENGLISHMAN'S SKETCH-BOOK; 

debates, and I flattered myself with the idea that I 
should see an assembly wise as the Areopagi, and 
venerable as the Conscript Fathers. 

To an Englishman the organization of a new 
system, the commencement of a new career, was a 
spectacle of a striking nature. In Europe the mere 
idea would be jacobinism, and the experiment — 
ruin. But here very few fears were entertained of 
any commotion, or general disorder, and not a 
single person suspected his life or liberty to be in 
danger. 

It was in August, 1821, that the Convention was 
organized for the purpose of proceeding to busi- 
ness ; but I plainly discovered, on the very first bal- 
lot, that this was a party affair. A few days' atten- 
dance convinced me of the vast disproportion be- 
tween the intellect and the number of the members. 
Remarks without pith, and satire without point, too 
often usurped the attention due only to weightier 
reflections. Objects were here effected for the sake 
of an ascendancy in the state, and the people were 
made the subjects of new arrangements, to bind 
them for ever in the chains of party. 

I expected much from the heads I saw around 
me, and if Gall could have been believed, I should 
not have lost the labour of copying their outlines in 
my note book, and assigning to them their due 



OR, LETTERS FROM NEW-YORK. 51 

quantum of brains, from a close observance of their 
exterior organs. But although I was generally 
disappointed in the result, I heard some of the 
members deliver themselves with peculiar felicity. 
As an Englishman, my eyes often rested on the ju- 
diciary, who were at this time engaged in legisla- 
tion, for in their guardianship only could I think 
any constitution safe. I watched the chancellor 
with never dying curiosity. From him I heard sen- 
timents that did honor to his heart, and I was 
touched by his warmth as well as charmed by his 
integrity. 

The chief justice also engaged my attention ; and 
though he seemed concerned in the discussion of 
points of form, yet when those measures were pro- 
posed which violated the spirit of the laws, it was 
from his warning voice that the spectator took 
alarm. With the fidelity of a friend, the learn- 
ing of a jurist, and the zeal of a patriot, he an- 
nounced the coming danger, and he seemed to meet 
it at the threshold with all the sincerity of self-de- 
votion. The house at such moments partook of 
his feeling, and for a time " conviction followed his 
periods." 

On subjects as serious as these I did not expect 
many sallies of wit. Yet now and then a certain 
militia general, with the voice of a Stentor, roared 



52 AN ENGLISHMAN'S SKETCH-BOOK; 

forth some weighty matter of the law, and with an 
inversion of logical method, threw into obscurity all 
the syllogisms of his opponent. His manner was 
unpleasant in the extreme ; yet with a strength of 
mind almost unbounded, " he made the wrong ap- 
pear the better cause." More than once he brought 
over to his opinion a majority of the house, already 
committed by a previous vote. Of this man, often 
as 1 should listen to his arguments, I should never 
entertain any exalted opinion — he is coarse, Vulgar 
and disgusting. He has, I am informed, dis- 
tinguished himself as the opponent of all liberal 
measures, and his bitterness of feeling has neither 
abated by long experience of the world, nor the 
gentleness with which his own glaring faults have 
long been treated by a generous public. 

I was introduced to one gentleman belonging to 
the convention, who possesses great talents and hu- 
mour, and as a jury lawyer has no competitor in this 
state. I have had the pleasure of hearing him 
speak in the nisi prius courts, and I saw him with 
astonishment occupying, defending and retaining 
the field of debate — at one moment, emotions of 
pity and sympathy, and at the next, of rage and 
indignation, filled the soul of the speaker, and his 
audience caught from him all the warmth of his 
feeling — at another, he was overwhelming his oppo- 



OR, LETTERS FROM NEW-YORK. 53 

nent with all the force of satire. He possesses one 
remarkable quality, which has been so often ascribed 
to Junius — I mean the " keenness of invective." 
Woe to the opposite party if a witness has made a 
single slip in his testimony, or has exposed to view 
an unfavourable circumstance in the defence. He 
catches the very words of the evidence, uses them 
at every assailable point, and beats down with his 
own weapons the strong holds of his adversary. A 
single word from the mouth of a witness, if it gives 
any clue to the secrets of the cause, is followed by 
him with never tiring zeal, first in his cross exami- 
nations, and then in his address to the jury. He 
rings every change upon an inadvertent sound, and 
generally succeeds in those causes which admit ad- 
dress, ingenuity, or satire. There is no one about 
Westminster that can be well compared to him. I 
heard him in the convention, retorting upon a bitter 
little man, with prodigious effect. In his ironical 
manner he sometimes magnified the little trembler 
into a colossal size, and seemed himself to be only 
" peeping under his huge legs ;"— at other times 
he reduced him to such utter insignificance that he 
was scarcely perceptible to the mental eye. The 
subject of his principal effort in this body was a 
view of the landed interests, which he called the 
5* 



54 an englishman's sketch-book; 

aristocracy of the country. He went into calcula- 
tion to show who were the people, and the legiti- 
mate makers of the law. He proved that a large 
portion of mankind was voluntarily or involuntarily 
incapacitated from governing. While he compli- 
mented the female sex for their endearing qualities, 
and their bright example, and glanced at the vir- 
tues of children, the comfort and solace of their 
sires, he remarked, that although these formed a 
great proportion of the population of a country, yet 
they were excluded from any share in its govern- 
ment. He then, by a parity of reasoning, demon- 
strated, that the hardy tillers of the earth were the 
legitimate lords of the soil, and that their patriotism, 
attachment to liberty, their readiness and ability to 
contribute to the public funds, entitled them pre- 
eminently to the favour of the country, which in fact 
depended on them. He maintained that they de- 
served a higher station in the political scale of pri- 
vilege than those whose only merit under the new 
constitution would be their involuntary service on 
the highway, and their being compelled, by the 
fear of imprisonment, to disgrace the militia of the 
stats by their unsoldierlike appearance on parade — 
who were wandering from town to town, and from 
poor house to poor house — whose bad habits and 
unsettled lives exposed them to contamination — who, 



OR, LETTERS FROM NEW-YORK. 55 

in the new order of things, would have no further 
inclination to become freeholders, and were from 
necessity exposed to the hateful influence of a cor- 
rupt and monied aristocracy. 

These strong and forcible arguments, for I be- 
lieve they were his, produced no effect on men fet- 
tered by previous commitment. The spirit of uni- 
versal suffrage possessed the house, and its agrarian 
policy was swallowed down, without a single reflec- 
tion upon the consequence. 

If property and taxation go hand in hand, and 
taxation and representation, which I believe was the 
doctrine of the revolution, it follows that the free- 
holders were entitled to something beyond the class 
of idlers, and " gentlemen without the visible means 
of subsistence." 

Mr. R. K. made a very poor figure in the house. 
He was no longer the statesman I had been accus- 
tomed to consider him, nor the proud advocate of 
the slave, for whom he but lately, in the senate of 
the United States, had urged the necessity of " uni- 
versal emancipation." He now consigned by his 
vote, to the sorrows of an eternal slavery, the wretch 
for whom but lately he had demanded freedom and 
citizenship. From so gross an inconsistency I pass 
to the consideration of another striking character. 
M. V. B. is an extraordinary man, and upon the 



56 an englishman's sketch-book; 

whole I am pleased with him. Without any advan- 
tages in the early part of his life, except those which 
his ingenuity supplied, he struggled against the ad- 
versities which perplex the young, and the coldness 
and opposition which are in general the gratuities 
of envious old age. His talents gained him the po- 
pular favour — his readiness of speech made him use- 
ful at public meetings, and this talent paved the 
way to fortune. Step by step he has passed through 
all the grades of public favour, and has exercised 
an extraordinary influence in the politics of the 
state. 

Like Warwick, he has been " the setter up and 
puller down of kings." I am thus particular about 
this gentleman, for I hear that nothing but an em- 
bassy will satisfy him. I believe that he will only at- 
tain this object if he is backed by the influence of his 
state in the next presidential election. No northern 
politician can ever make an honourable submission 
to southern interests. If he forsakes his con- 
stituents, his integrity will be justly questioned; but 
if they go with him, and upon all honourable occa- 
sions they will, he may reap the reward of his poli- 
tical efforts, by reaching the haven where he would 
be. 

If ever this gentleman reaches this favourite 
point, you will thank me for this sketch of him ; 



OR, LETTERS FROM NEW-YORK. 57 

and you yourself, on the rise to fame and fortune, 
may one day meet him in the field of diplomatic re- 
nown, 

So much for the more distinguished members of 
the New- York convention. 

Yours. 



58 AN ENGLISHMAN'S SKETCH-BOOK; 



LETTER VII. 



Inflexible in faith, invincible in arms. Beattie. 



My dear I , 

As the Americans have discovered a fondness for 
military glory, notwithstanding the pacific policy, 
which the popular sentiment sustains and cherishes, 
you will not be surprised to hear that there is a na- 
tional military school maintained at the public ex- 
pense at West Point, the scene of Major Andre's 
ill-fated adventure. 

We have all seen the good effects of similar in- 
stitutions at home, and every one knows that the 
polytechnic school at Paris had an almost incredi- 
ble utility. The United States Military Academy 
occupies a commanding situation on the point, from 
which a splendid view is open to the eye for many 



OR, LETTERS FROM NEW-YORK. 59 

miles upon the North river. If New- York should 
fall into our hands, our troops could never pass the 
highlands. The work of a night would enable the 
enemy to preserve and retain this position. This 
place was eagerly watched by both armies in the 
revolution, and it has always seemed to me, that had 
the plot of General Arnold succeeded, the whole 
state of New- York would have submitted to the 
king. Providence otherwise ordered the event, and 
a gallant and amiable young man fell a victim to 
the result, on which hung the glory or the shame of 
the transaction. 

At this place a large number of cadets, in all per- 
haps two hundred and sixty, are supported by go- 
vernment. They have professors in all the regular 
branches of instruction ; and teachers of the French 
language, drawing, military perspective, and the 
necessary defences of the body with the broad and 
small sword. Indeed all the accomplishments inci- 
dent to a military education are here attained. 
During a part of the summer, the corps is encamp- 
ed on the plain, and becomes inured to the hard- 
ships of actual service. They are sometimes march- 
ed to different parts of the country, and have al- 
ready been at Boston, Philadelphia and Albany. I 
once had the pleasure of meeting them on a march, 
and I was amazed at the perfection of their drill. 



60 an englishman's sketch-book; 

Their uniform was substantial and their appearance 
soldierlike and interesting. A delightful band of 
music, led by a celebrated performer on the Kent 
bugle, imparted life and spirit to the scene, and I 
could not help regarding them with peculiar emo- 
tion. The only body of men amongst our troops, 
whose appearance surpasses theirs, are the showy 
and spirited guards men. Here was a battalion of 
young gentlemen, whose lives and habits gave pro- 
mise to future glory — not that individual glory, 
which an isolated achievement casts about its hero ; 
but of that philosophical kind which moves and acts 
upon other minds — imparting its radiance to a 
whole circle of competitors, and exciting others to 
deeds of equal fame. The veterans of Hyde 
Park are certainly accustomed to parade, and are 
more gaily equipped, but there is not the slightest 
attention given to mental improvement at their bar- 
racks. In the officers' quarters you get good din- 
ners and good wine, but a wager is too frequently 
their only proof of spirit, and a pun the only proof 
of mind. 

A class graduates at the end of every year at 
West Point, and the rank of a lieutenant is bestow- 
ed on each of the cadets. They are immediately 
placed in the engineer and ordnance departments, 
if they are meritorious scholars ; and the artillery 



OR, LETTERS FROM NEW-YORK. 61 

and infantry receive the next in rank. The stand- 
ing army of the United States is now but the ske- 
leton of its former self, and the corps of supernu- 
merary officers is gradually increasing. The garri- 
sons and frontier posts at present are scarcely 
occupied. 

With all my admiration for British valour, and 
the feeling of respect which its deathless conquests 
have inspired, while my soul burns within me at the 
recollection of its matchless deeds, I cannot but 
acknowledge an almost equal regard for the splen- 
did achievements of this young nation. Both men 
and officers think and act as if great actions were 
expected from them, and for every instance of Bri- 
tish valour and worth, they give you with prompti- 
tude a parallel case of their own. If you speak of 
great military men — we, too, say they, have our 
Washingtons. Many of the examples quoted by 
their historians, (if any such body of men is to be 
found in America) are exceedingly brilliant. 

In some parts of their defence, the Americans both 
on land and water, are superior to us. It is a well 
known fact, that the firings of their regular troops 
during the late war were almost perfect, while out- 
door ignorant machines, who were cut down by a 
tremendous fire, threw away their own shot upon 
the tops of trees far above the heads of their unin- 
6 



62 an englishman's sketch-book; 

jured enemies. In the management and direction 
of their artillery they were not less pre-eminent. On 
the Niagara frontier a particular set of guns was so 
well served by a company of artillerists, that our 
men were alarmed at its precision, and gave it the 
distinguished synonyme of " the light house." 
Their superiority in these branches of tactics can 
only be accounted for by their universal use of 
arms. The moment an American lad is old enough 
to carry a gun he sets out in pursuit of game, and 
explores the woods and wilds with the utmost fear- 
lessness. The exhilaration of success keeps up his 
attachment, and he is a sportsman before our En- 
glish youth have left the nursery ! He becomes a 
good shot, is cool and steady in the pursuit of his 
object, and thus insensibly fits himself for the duties 
of the field. 

There is also a striking difference in the construc- 
tion of their ships of war. To solidity and strength, 
they add finish and beauty. I believe that the 
French have hitherto excelled both the English and 
Americans in this department of science ; but great 
attention is now paid by the latter to the subject, 
and some of the most beautiful models 1 ever saw, 
were to be seen in the ship-yards of Eckford and 
Brown, in the city of New-York. During a late 
visit to lake Ontario, I crossed to Kingston in Up- 



OR, LETTERS FROM NEW- YORK. 63 

per Canada, and being an Englishman, was at once 
admitted into the navy yard. I saw there a ship of 
one hundred and twenty guns, which was com- 
menced but not entirely finished, at the close of the 
late war. There was a striking inferiority in its 
construction. The Argonauts could not have ex- 
hibited a clumsier model. The art of ship building 
seemed by this specimen to be reverting to the un- 
couthness of primitive forms. The American ves- 
sels on this lake were built in a most unprecedent- 
ed manner. A gang of carpenters was sent on from 
New-York, without delay, to Sackett's Harbour, 
the naval depot. The neighbouring forests bow- 
ed beneath the axe, and the trees which but twenty 
days before were covered with foliage, assumed 
the forms of well proportioned ships iloating on the 
waves of an inland sea. The large ship called the 
New Orleans, is a noble vessel, and is housed for 
its better preservation. It is said to be the largest 
man of war in the world. The Ohio and Franklin 
seventy-fours, which are now laid up in ordinary at 
Brooklyn, are splendid ships, and do honour to the 
naval architecture of the country. The Washing- 
ton, another one of the same class, has been in the 
Mediterranean, and excited the attention of the 
most distinguished persons wherever she touched 
during her cruize. An Italian princess, the sister of 



64 AN ENGLISHMAN'S SKETCH-BOOK ; 

Bonaparte, who took her passage in the Spark from 
Leghorn, on her way to Rome, gave a decided 
preference to the American ships for comfort, 
strength and safety. The most astonishing naval 
feats were performed in the Mediterranean by the 
American seamen ; and when the Washington, con- 
trary to usual custom, came close into her anchor- 
age ground in the bay of Naples, with every yard 
of canvass spread, it was considered by the Neapo- 
litans as the most daring act that was ever witness- 
ed, and all the saints were called on to notice the 
boldness, the beauty, and the success of the attempt. 
Believe me, I feel a sadness at this, which, as a 
lover of my country, I cannot conceal from you. A 
spirit of rivalry is awakened here, which must pro- 
duce collisions I cannot but sincerely dread. Eng- 
land is the home of my ancestors, and in their event- 
ful histories I have traced with pleasure the honours 
which were bestowed on a virtuous and honoured 
race. I do not wish to stifle a sentiment which the 
reflection excites, for, 

11 With all her faults," I love my country still. 

If she is hastening to decay, and I fear that another 
century will complete her misfortunes, to what 
causes shall we attribute them . ? One statesman af- 
ter another loses his reason in the dreadful respon- 



65 



sibilities of his station. With an immense majority 
in both houses, the weight of rank and wealth in 
their favour, an established and loyal clergy, im- 
mense possessions, on which, in an emergency, to 
rely, we see administration after administration 
driven from their seat by the secret and tremendous 
pressure of unexplained causes. Thank heaven ! 
the glories of her former house shall still survive. 
If she totters, the arts and sciences of the old world 
stand trembling with her. If she falls, in her fall 
will be buried the most splendid examples of virtue 
and of valour ! Religion shall mourn her earliest 
handmaid, and wit and genius shall consecrate her 
dust. In the records of her history shall be for 
ever preserved the memories of the good men who 
counselled, and the brave men who defended her. 
The brilliant efforts of legal and parliamentary elo- 
quence — the triumphs of scholarship — the disco- 
veries of philosophy — the sweet influence of moral- 
ists, and the melody of our bards ; — the blessings 
of civil and religious liberty — the enterprise of our 
travellers, and the honour of British merchants, will 
be themes of everlasting comment — monuments that 
can never perish. Over her errors and misfortunes 
let charity draw its veil. A generous enemy will 
forget the animosities of national prejudice in the 
melancholy termination of so bright a career. 



66 an englishman's sketch-book; 

To surpass the glories of our happy eras, our 
transatlantic brethren have much to do. Many 
hard fought battles must be won ; many daring en- 
terprises be accomplished ; many a forlorn hope vo- 
lunteered in the cause of nations ! What statesmen 
must not arise to direct or restrain the native ener- 
gies of man ! how many painters to give to canvass 
the never dying examples of virtue ! Genius must 
soar to new regions of thought, and the Muses be 
rapt in new sublimity of inspiration ! How many 
ages must pass to organize, arrange, and finish the 
grand designs of intellect ! ****** 
Let them prosper then, and heaven preserve this 
generous people ! Their line of descent will be 
traced back to us. Are they brave ? So were we ! 
Are they enterprising ? So were we ! Are they 
all that the heart can wish ? So were we I 

Yours. 



OR, LETTERS FROM NEW-YORK. 67 



LETTER Vm. 



Specteniur agendo.—- Clifden's Motto. 
Simplex munditiis. — Horace. 



My DEAR I , 

A short time since I had the honour of a card 
from my friend for an evening party and ball. I 
accepted it with pleasure, for I have found an Ame- 
rican assembly quite an agreeable affair. At some 
places of fashionable notoriety I observed with pain 
a disposition in their possessors to imitate the follies 
of an English route, and the extravagance of En- 
glish taste. Our fetes, civic and champetres, can- 
not be outdone in this country, and the attempt is 
as idle as it is unavailing. Their houses are fine, 
and their arrangements excellent ; but it is impossi- 
ble for them to rival an English at home. When 



68 an englishman's sketch-book; 

they consider for a moment the extent and magni- 
tude of the rooms of our gentry, the richness, the 
splendour of the furniture, the chalked floors, the 
costly lights, the expensive transparencies, the su- 
perb music, and the fortunes which are lavished 
upon the persons of the British fair, and often upon 
a single dress, they will perceive that it is the re- 
sult of a luxury very hostile to virtue, and of a state 
of things, I trust in God, they may never see. To 
sensible and well bred foreigners, too many of 
whom, by the by, have not yet visited this country, 
such attempts are perfectly ridiculous, and wear an 
appearance of extreme absurdity. 

The English are much admired by the Ameri- 
cans, and some of our countrymen have improved 
it to their own advantage. Clerks from Sheffield, 
and cockneys from " Lunnun ;" men whose lips 
never aspirated the H, or enunciated the W of their 
mother tongue, have actually made their way into 
circles of ton. One of the most amusing tricks by 
which the Americans have been made dupes, is also 
one of the most common occurrence. A valet de 
chambre of good address, who has been admitted to 
slight familiarity by his master, or has travelled 
with him on the continent, has been seen aping his 
manners, and retailing his conversations. Nor is 
this all. Assuming his title, and taking possession 



OR, LETTERS FROM NEW-YORK. 69 

of his estates, he has pushed his way into the coteries 
of fashion. After foraging upon the enemy with 
imperturbable coolness, he has at length been driven 
by detection to withdraw from the scene of action, 
though generally not without the proceeds of drafts 
upon unconscious bankers, and in one instance 
with the very shirts of his luckless entertainers. 
Cities in the interior are most exposed to the ope- 
rations of these vagabonds ; and, though you will 
smile, yet I assure you that one fellow actually had 
the impudence to assume the nom du guerre of our 
favourite Jeremy Diddler, and in the metropolis of 
a great state succeeded in " raising the wind" as 
Mr. Mortimer, with a success that throws his fa- 
mous prototype into comparative obscurity. But 
to resume the subject of my letter. 

At the house of , Esq. an English gentle- 
man highly esteemed in his adopted country, and 
enjoying the confidence of the monied men of New- 
York, by the admirable skill displayed in his com- 
mercial arrangements, I found the true style of 
living, to which I think the spirit of the country is 
adapted. Do not understand me to say, that ele- 
gant refinement is not congenial to American prin- 
ciples, or that " ease with dignity," which poetry 
has asserted to be the golden mean of life, is in- 
compatible with their political character ; but this I 



70 AN ENGLISHMAN'S SKETCH-BOOK; 

venture to say, that the predominating feelings of 
the nation are of a nature totally irreconcileable 
with the glare of pomp and show. In this gentle- 
man's house, I did not recline upon Ottomans, or 
fanteuils, nor were my booted feet carrying destruc- 
tion into the heart of any product of Turkey. 
There was no Boudoir, that secret and mysterious 
seat of fashionable intrigue, where every sentiment 
seems coloured by the tints of unrestrained fancy, 
and every sigh is loaded with the odour of artificial 
perfumes ; where nothing enters but to minister new 
excitements "to a mind diseased," and hope is the 
only, and too often the last refuge of the heart. 

But every thing here was rich and plain ; strength, 
beauty, and chasteness existed in perfect combina- 
tion. I saw paintings and engravings, busts and 
basso relievos, books of standard merit, and heard 
instruments of the sweetest tone. The hand of 
taste was visible at every step, and an air of substan- 
tial comfort was apparent at every glance. The 
manners of his family, as I had anticipated from 
the moment I entered the room, corresponded with 
what I saw around me. I fancied myself in the 
temple of the graces — every action was ease — every 
expression was mind — every remark was taste. A 
tender affection for each other was visible in the 
members of the family, and I lingered to the last 



OR, LETTERS FROM NEW-YORK. 71 

moment of politeness in the little Eden, into which 
my good fortune had placed me. 

On the other hand, I once found myself acci- 
dentally in the saloon of a new made gentleman. 
Mirror mocked at mirror, pier glass stared at pier 
glass, and each seemed to reflect the other into an 
eternity of perspective. Vases of alabaster, sta- 
lagmite and selenite, loaded the mantelpiece, and 
all the little loves were there in groups of snowy 
marble. Plate of immense value glittered on the 
sideboard, carpets upon which the Sublime Porte 
might have deigned to tread, curtains of damask 
and cornices of gold, and indeed furniture of eve- 
ry kind under heaven, from the primeval simplicity 
of the doric order, down to the last importations of 
claw-footed dragons was here displayed. It put me 
in mind of a Bond-street repository, where every me- 
chanic has placed a specimen of his skill for the in- 
spection of critics and amateurs. There was a 
grand bookcase, completely gilded, like the pipes 
of an organ case, which stood in a place called the 
library. If splendidly bound books and red moroc- 
co covers are the evidences of literary taste, then 
here was its perfect fruition ! But, alas ! my eyes 
wandered over the titles with an anxious solicitude 
that one feels for our absent friends. Sickly sen- 
timents and romantic absurdities were the presiding 



72 an englishman's sketch-book; 

genii of the place, while Addison, and Johnson, and 
Dryden, the pride of our literary world, were lost 
in the more imposing crowd of authors who have 
abused the patience and long-suffering of mankind. 
All the tribe of imitators were there, to the exclu- 
sion of the fathers of history, the bards of other 
times, and the sound scholars of the Augustan age. 
For a moment I fancied that I had fallen into a ka- 
leidoscope, where liveliness of colours, and their 
fanciful arrangement, were only equalled by the 
worthlessness of the materials. In short, this par- 
venu was the laughing stock of all the sensible peo- 
ple who knew him. There are more of this class 
of persons in America than I wish to see. They 
should remember, that the principal ornaments of 
their character should be modesty and simplicity. 

To return to the subject with which I commenced 
this letter, let me observe, that in compliance with 
the terms of the invitation, I reached the house of 
my entertainer on the appointed evening, at about 
8 o'clock. I was received by him with politeness, 
and made my bow to his amiable wife with unfeign- 
ed pleasure. I found a large number of fashiona- 
ble people already arrived, and the rolling of car- 
riages at the door, gave tokens of a further acces- 
sion. I placed myself in a position where I could 
see every thing that was worthy of notice, and I 



OR, LETTERS FROM NEW-YORK. 73 

leaned on the arm of a young American, who re- 
lished the apparent novelty of my remarks. I saw 
the heart was here what it is every where else, and 
the eyes of most of the females in the room spark- 
ling with the fulness of joy. Some of them were 
very beautiful. Although the lights of an evening 
party are particularly favourable to the human 
countenance, yet some complexions were far be- 
yond the need of such artificial aid. There were 
present all the varieties of natural tints — pure red 
and white, the glow of health and vivacity — the 
light auburn hair, and the delicate clearness and 
transparency of the skin that accompanied it. 
They had universally good figures, a handsome 
movement, and pleasing manners. The latter of 
course depend upon education and society alone. 
No country claims precedence in this, and no zone 
embraces its peculiarity. Among the elder and 
matronly class, I found some fine looking women, 
who were not worn out by early cares, and whose 
present appearance bespoke the generous autumn 
of life. I saw two countrywomen of mine at the 
piano, and recognized in their execution the manner 
of our English masters, but not the best imitations 
of their style. They received much attention, but 
were not to be compared to many other women 
in the room. The fashions adopted by the Ameri- 
7 



74 AN ENGLISHMAN'S SKETCH-BOOK; 

cans are more French than English. The square 
cut and horizontal lines of an English mantuama- 
ker, are here neglected for the curves, waving lines, 
and the philosophy of the " great nation." 

I think the fault of American society is in the 
conversational tone, and the stiffness of its social in- 
tercourse. The moment a gentleman addresses his 
conversation to a lady, he seems to change his or- 
dinary manner, and to adapt his remarks to his fair 
companion. He quits the manly tone of thought, 
seems desirous of forgetting his usual pursuits, no 
matter how elevated and interesting, and he falls in- 
to the lisp of the saloon, and indulges in the small 
talk of the gossips. In our best English society, 
1 do not mean that of mere wealth or rank, which 
with us do not of course imply refinement or excel- 
lence, it is notorious that the one sex meets the other 
on terms of perfect equality. The eloquent leader 
of a party in the House of Commons has been seen 
o enter the crowded rooms of a fashionable enter- 
tainer, and seat himself at the side of a British 
belle, who discussed with perfect tact and unaffect- 
ed interest, the principles of the debate in which he 
had but a few moments before been a distinguished 
participator. Small talk and tittle-tattle are al- 
ways in bad taste. The charm of female society 
has ever been found in refinement of intellect, and 
the delicacy of cultivated taste. 



OR, LETTERS FROM NEW-YORK. 75 

In the midst of similar reflections, I was hurried 
by my young friend to the ball room, where we 
found the floor entirely occupied by several sets of 
cotilions — French — French — French, repeated I 
to my companion, you certainly follow the French 
in your bagatelles. 

So do your countrywomen, said he, in spite of 
your ancient prejudices, and your hostility to the 
Boulevards and Palais Royal. But you shall see 
my fair friends in an English country dance, for you 
are a traveller, and I wish you to see us as we are. 
I laughed heartily at his zeal, and replied, that if 
ever he saw my remarks in print, he would find that 
I loved truth, and should never traduce his country. 

True enough, an old country dance, which is well 
known in England as the " Sir Roger De Cover- 
ly," was got up in a moment, and I saw the delight- 
ful representation of our family amusement in the 
country, when the holidays are just commenced — 
when the fine bracing weather of the season fits 
every nerve for exercise, and the occasion fills every 
heart with love and friendship. Quite charmed 
with the figure and its delightful associations, I fell 
from one musing into another, until the music had 
ceased, the company fled, and 

" All but I departed." 



76 AN ENGLISHMAN'S SKETCH-BOOK; 

I made a hasty bow to my kind friends, retreated to 
my lodgings, and in the arms of sleep dreamed 
sweetly of home and you. A mother's embrace 
once more welcomed her son, and a father's blessing 
once again was given his child. Your friendly 
hand, my dear friend, again clasped mine, and in the 
bliss of that moment, all the pains of absence were 
forgotten. 

But let me cease to recall what reality has proved 
so fleeting. The wide waters are between us still, 
and I am at a distance from you, which, under the 
excitement of feeling and affection, 

" Immeasurably wide, 
" Seems lengthening as I go." 

Yours. 



OR, LETTERS FROM NEW-YORK. 77 



LETTER IX. 



11 Knowest thou the land ?" 

0, fortunatos nimium, sua si bona, norint. 

Virgil. 



My DEAR I , 

The scenery of this country is the never-failing 
theme of travellers. Whether you seek the beauties 
of nature in her rude or gentler forms, the same re- 
sult, the same unqualified admiration attends them. 
Even in the interminable wilds of the western world, 
she is said " to bud and blossom as the rose," and 
the emigrant has more than once rested on the hill 
side, to gaze at the splendid landscape which lay 
smiling before him. In the vastness of territory 
with which this people are endowed, there are never- 
failing and countless beauties, which must continue 
to excite their love for their natal soil. 
7* 



78 AN ENGLISHMAN'S SKETCH-BOOK; 

The state of New- York is peculiarly rich in na- 
tural advantages. Her geographical position is a 
fine one, and in the grand confederation of the 
states, she is the keystone of the political arch. Of 
her wealth and resources I may speak more fully 
when leisure shall have given me opportunity for 
research. It is her scenery which now employs my 
attention. 

I have made a short excursion to the great lakes, 
and have returned quite excited by what I have 
seen. The falls of Niagara are truly magnificent. 
An immense body of water, that but a few hours be- 
fore bore in safety on its bosom the numerous and 
winged messengers of commerce, now rushes to the 
brink of a tremendous precipice, where the senses 
grow giddy amidst the dizziness of the brain, and 
where not a boat nor a cockle-shell can live. Di- 
vided as it is in the center by a lovely island, the 
interruption only adds to the grandeur of the fall. 
Without it the breadth of the sheet of water would 
have diminished the height to the eye, and then much 
of the effect would have been lost. Now a larger 
body of water is forced round the island on either 
side, and this adds very much to the heaviness of 
the masses which are precipitated below. The falls, 
by contrast, are also more distinct to the vision, 
and the water falls from an apparently greater 



OR, LETTERS FROM NEW-YORK. 79 

height. I have heard the most childish regrets ex- 
pressed that this island divided the falls ! To per- 
sons who indulge in such folly, the fitness of nature 
will never be apparent, and want of taste will be 
an eternal bar to enjoyment. You ask me what 
were my feelings when I caught the first view of the 
tremendous cataract. Indeed I felt what I cannot 
describe. While I was watching the fall of water, 
all things seemed moving under my feet. I gave 
the reins to my fancy, and seemed to be hurried 
along by inevitable destiny. Every moment seem- 
ed big with importance. In an instant whole 
masses of water were changed into spray, and a tre- 
mendous roar accompanied the change. So thought 
I is man. Thus in apparent security he trifles with 
events till the last verge is approached, whence 
" there is no return. " The noise of his fall is 
merged in that of the wretch who follows him, and 
amid the tumult, and hurry, and confusion of life, 
upon his memory alone does hope erect its arch of 
peace. 

There is no one point of view where all the va- 
rieties of the scene can be taken in at a single coup 
d'ceil. From the top of Brown's or Chrystler's ho- 
tels, you see most at one glance, but in being ele- 
vated so much above the water, you lose one of the 
principal sublimities, the great height of the fall. 



80 AN ENGLISHMAN'S SKETCH-BOOK; 

From Brown's you look across to the American side, 
where on the extreme left you distinguish the shed 
over the American stairs, and these hanging as it 
were on the side of the rock, but reaching only half 
way down the bank, from whence the further descent 
is perfectly safe. Thence turning your eye to the 
right you see the American fall, which appears to 
be directly in front of you ; and here you are sur- 
prised to see pieces of large rocks piled up to a con- 
siderable height against the precipice. You then 
observe the small island, which seems to be in con- 
stant danger of being torn from the niche it occu- 
pies on the edge of the fall. Goat island next oc- 
cupies your attention, and having observed its ex- 
tent, its high banks, and the verdant foliage with 
which it is crowned, you look immediately below 
you at the British falls. Above the pitch next to 
Goat island very large rocks are seen scattered 
about in the bed of the river, and then the Horse 
Shoe attracts your attention, with its semi-elliptical 
outline, over which the largest masses of water are 
tumbled into the gulf below. Beyond the Ameri- 
can fall, a smiling country, and the flourishing set- 
tlement of Judge Porter, form a fine relief to the 
water prospect, and far above Goat island the Nia- 
gara river is seen placid, calm and undisturbed. 



OR, LETTERS FROM NEW-YORK. 81 

But I shall fall into a mystification of ideas, if I 
attempt any further illustration of the scenery at 
Niagara. There are certain associations always 
connected with the place, the time, your compa- 
nions, and yourself, which vary, nay, almost change 
your estimate of things. Thus every description 
will be liable to censure from the pedantic criticisms 
of philologists and school boys, when the delightful 
or melancholy musings of the moment, which gave 
us such a relish for the scenery around, have " de- 
parted, never to return." 

A spiral ladder on the British side affords great 
facilities to the visiter, who wishes to approach the 
sheet of water from below. The walks up the 
banks from the ferry landing to Brown's are very 
convenient and well contrived. I anticipate the 
erecting of a ladder at the precipice of Goat island, 
by which means access will be furnished to some 
very fine geological specimens of gypsum, and beau- 
tiful crystallizations of lime. 

I met here a British artist of no small pretensions, 
who was painting " The Falls," upon canvass that 
contained a surface of almost equal extent. It was 
to be the largest picture of the subject ever taken 
by artist ; and when I say this, I have said all that 
could be urged in favour of the effort. A rough 
board house was built to contain the painter and his 



82 an englishman's sketch-book; 

canvass. A bottle of brandy and a bunch of se- 
gars divided his attention pretty equally, and I pre- 
sume he is still at work, attempting to finish what I 
imagine was the only thing in which water ever 
pleased him. 

I visited Lundy's lane, and saw the antiquated 
heroine of the night, who remained at home during 
the engagement, and risked her life for the preser- 
vation of her property. I went to the burying- 
ground, upon which, with all the immense advanta- 
ges of position, a British battery was charged, ta- 
ken, and turned upon our own troops, and where 
now sleep the ashes of the brave, who fought, bled, 
and died, in a distant land. 

I rode down to Fort Niagara, which it has been 
the singular fortune of England to retain at the end 
of both wars, and which has twice been recaptured 
from her, by the force of — treaties ! but not of arms. 
It is in a good state of preservation, but the parade 
is ruined for the present, by a mound of earth which 
was thrown up during the construction of some ad- 
ditional works. The fort has a beautiful and pic- 
turesque appearance from the road, and commands 
Fort George on the British side of the river. It 
is a very old fortification, has been several times in 
French and English hands, and if its walls could 
speak, would bear witness to all the varieties of 



OR, LETTERS FROM NEW-YORK. 83 

hardships, surprises, and sufferings to which garri- 
son duty has been ever subject. During the late 
war, it opened and kept up for several days a most 
intense fire upon the British batteries, and facilitated 
the capture of Fort George by the resistless effect 
of its well-directed fire. 

But I have not time to enlarge on so fruitful a 
subject. I shall take another opportunity to enlarge 
on this point, and give you some account of the 
Canadas. 

On my return from the frontier, I so varied my 
tour, as to see every thing most worthy of notice. 
At the village of Canandaigua, a delightful situa- 
tion upon a charming lake, and at Skaneateles, up- 
on a lake of that name, I was highly pleased. On 
the Canaseraga hill, marked on the map I sent you, 
you have a view of the Oneida lake, some miles 
distant to the north, and it looks like a white cloud 
in the air. The scenery of the Mohawk river must 
not be forgotten. The Mohawk country is quite 
familiar to English readers, but in the political events 
connected with it, its natural beauties have been for- 
gotten. The navigation of the river is very much 
impeded by the rocks which are so frequent in 
its channel, and over these the water rushes with 
great noise and swiftness. In some places, rocks 
piled on rocks, compress the stream into a nar- 



84 AN englishman's sketch-book; 

row bed ; and then in others, no longer confined, it 
expands to greater width, and washes a beautiful 
shore shaded with venerable and majestic trees. 
Here and there are shown you the ruins of little 
forts, whose positions commanded the river, and 
which withstood in other times the assaults of the 
French and Indians. At Herkimer, there are the 
most beautiful flats in the world. Spread out like 
a map to the eye, the divisions of territory are dis- 
tinctly to be traced from the hills above them, and 
the cultivator has apparently consulted, in the ar- 
rangement of his crops, the beautiful effect of con- 
trasted colours. In some places on the river, the 
voyager is answered by the most perfect echoes from 
the highlands, and ever and anon the sound of the 
boatman's horn is heard at a distance ; and often 
the sweetest notes from an instrument of almost pri- 
mitive simplicity. Along its southern bank the 
great Erie canal passes, of which Mr. Clinton was 
the glorious patron and advocate. Hundreds of 
boats are daily passing along loaded with the pro- 
duce of the west, or freighted with the returns of 
British industry. 

At Trenton, a country village on the great 
northern road to Sackett's Harbour, about ten miles 
from Utica, the West Canada creek has been the 
wonderful sport of nature. Beneath you, you may 



OR, LETTERS FROM NEW-YORK. 85 

see the water rushing over a bottom of limestone, 
that looks like a Roman pavement — beyond is a 
whirlpool, round which every thing within its influ- 
ence is hurried ; and far above you, lofty precipices 
rise into the air, assuming a hundred different forms. 
In short, the sublime and beautiful meet you at eve- 
ry step, and sometimes approaching where they can 
never meet, astonish you with the strangeness of 
their parallelism. 

In Vermont, I have gazed at the snow-clad sum" 
mits of her hills. In Connecticut, I have seen with 
pleasure the neat landscape, ornamented with the 
white dwellings of her sons. In New-York, every 
variety of beauty — in New-Jersey, the finest sea 
views imaginable — in Pennsylvania, all the quiet- 
ness and repose of cultivation, and the pure simpli- 
city of natural taste. Travel where you will, some- 
thing fine awaits you. I wish I had opportunity to 
institute a comparison between English and Ameri- 
can scenery, so widely different in its general cha- 
racter. But I have no leisure for so diffuse a com- 
parison ; and if I had, I fear all my English preju- 
dices would not avail my country. Of Keswick 
and Windermere, I might say much, but of Niagara 
and lake George, I could speak volumes. I should 
not hestitate to give the palm to the lovely valleys of 



8 



86 AN ENGLISHMAN'S SKETCH-BOOK; 

of the Mohawk, and the transparent waters of Ca- 
yuga. 

How bountiful has Providence been to this peo- 
ple ! On what a magnificent scale is the adjust- 
ment of her plains and mountains,- her rivers 
and her lakes ! Her rivers are truly tributary to 
her, and her lakes are covered with sails. Every 
breeze wafts with it the produce of the soil ; in the 
morning it carries out her rich freights to sea ; in 
the evening it brings back the gifts of other climes. 

If scenery can affect the character of the Ameri- 
cans, I shall anticipate for posterity the most splen- 
did triumphs of art, the sublimest darings of phi- 
losophy, all the mild glories of peace, the most he- 
roic achievements in war. 

Yours. 



OR, LETTERS FROM NEW-YORK. 87 



LETTER X. 



We sat upon the ruins of the walls 
And gazed at the laps'd ditch 
And fallen port. 



Crusader. 



My DEAR T , 

I have always taken an interest in the early in- 
tercourse of our countrymen with the Americans. 
Those places noted as scenes which they have ren- 
dered remarkable by their sufferings or achievements 
have interested me beyond measure. In this spirit 
it was that I accompanied an American friend to 
lake George, in the northern part of the state of 
New-York. 

On our way from Albany we passed the Falls of 
the Cohoes, which are well known from the lines of 
Moore, and those at Glenn's village, worthy of be- 
ing celebrated by some native author. 



88 AN englishman's sketch-book ; 

On arriving at the latter place we immediately 
started from the inn on an excursion to this island, 
or rather rock. We therefore went " in search 
of the picturesque," and we found its summit 
supporting the bridge, and affording a site for the 
toll-gatherer's house, and a little garden patch, now 
quite neglected and forsaken. We descended to 
the level of the stream below, and explored the 
caves, where the cool air and the darkness of night 
seemed to shut out the sultry noon. 

These falls are quite worthy of observation, but 
cannot be distinctly described. To get a general 
idea, you may imagine a descent of water through 
two cavities or horse shoes, and the bridge passing 
over just at their feet. The letter B in a horizon- 
tal position, forms a pretty correct diagram, if you 
suppose the stream to fall in the concavity of the up- 
per part, and the horizontal line to be the bridge. 
We however were not satisfied with this view, but 
following the east bank of the river down to the 
limekiln, descended to its rocky bed, and gained a 
general view at about a quarter of a mile distant. 
The principal object is the rock sustaining the 
bridge : on the right you behold one branch of the 
stream foaming in the chasm, and on the bank 
above, a succession of mills turned by water brought 
from the level above. Then casting your eye to 



OR, LETTERS FROM NEW-YORK. 89 

the left side of the stream, you observe the other 
branch falling into another chasm ; and on the 
left bank a saw-mill and a large cotton factory built 
of stone, embraced in the coup d'ceil. High above 
the water foaming at the foot of the chute, the 
bridge stretches from bank to bank. 

The Marquis de Chastellux, whose work is popu- 
lar with us, considered the view of this fall " an 
ample recompense" for his trouble. He compares 
it to the Cohoes, and observes that the latter is 
" more majestic," the former " more terrible." 
" The Mohawk river," says he, " falls from its own 
dead weight, the Hudson frets and becomes enrag- 
ed, it foams, and forms whirlpools, like a serpent 
making its escape, and still menacing with its horri- 
ble hissings." 

At the time we observed it, it did not merit the 
latter description. The river was low, there was 
more rock than water, and more precipice than cas- 
cade. The serpent had slunk to his cave. 

We now proceeded on our route over a sand road 
of uncommon difficulty. We passed wagon after 
wagon, loaded with lumber, each load being worth 
from six to seven dollars at its place of destination. 

When we arrived within a mile of Caldwell, al- 
though the day was misty, we caught a glimpse of 
8* 



90 AN ENGLISHMAN'S SKETCH-BOOK; 

the beautiful waters of Lake George, which, with 
the mountain boundary thus obscured, seemed like 
a bay or arm of the sea. It did not disappoint our 
expectations. The village of Caldwell presented 
a gay appearance to the eye, not entirely justified 
by further observation. We drove up to the 
public house and found the establishment vacated, 
and were obliged to drive to a private house, where 
every thing was done to make us comfortable. We 
found a small but pleasant party here before us, with 
whom we joined forces, and passed many pleasant 
hours, not easily forgotten. 

If, as Shenstone observes, we meet " our warm- 
est welcome in an inn," it is not less true, that at 
these public places, pleasing acquaintances are 
formed, and friendships of slight origin are cement- 
ed by the gratifications of similar tastes, and the 
mutual enjoyment of innocent pleasures. As a fo- 
reigner I received every kindness from my compa- 
nions. 

We fished, sailed, visited the islands and climbed 
the mountains together. Together we wandered 
over the ruins of the military works, measured the 
lark shadows from the hills, beat up the wood-cock 
from his covert, and drove the wild duck from the 
brake. 



OR, LETTERS FROM NEW-YORK. 91 

Fort George, which you see on entering the vil- 
lage, was our first object of inquiry. We walked 
along the southern beach of the lake for half a mile, 
and crossed a small bridge before we ascended the 
road which skirts the fort. A large pile of mason 
work and earth is still visible at least twenty feet 
high. This fort was built by Lord Amherst, in 
1758, and mounted twelve guns in its best state of 
defence. It was never considered tenable, and only 
" adapted to keep off Indians" and small parties of 
the enemy. From this spot, the sketches are usual- 
ly made of the lake, and in general they are ex- 
tremely incorrect. Those that come out from Eng- 
land on earthern ware, are indeed contemptible il- 
lustrations of the scenery of Lake George. As 
we returned to the village we observed on our left 
a field in which an old man was at work with a hoe, 
turning up the ground with apparent anxiety. Our 
curiosity was excited by his conduct, when he re- 
plied to us, to our surprise, for we were not aware 
of the locality, " you are treading on the ruins of 
Fort William-Henry." > A train of recollections 
immediately followed this remark, and the mind 
overpowered by memory, was for a moment in a 
state of inaction. We were soon, however, put in 
possession of the traditionary history of the fort, 
and connected it with the authentic narrative in our 



92 AN englishman's sketch-book ; 

possession. He pointed out the site of the barracks, 
the quarters of the commander, and parade, and in- 
formed us that he had a lease of the ground, and 
amused himself with daily visits to the ruins, in 
which he was of opinion something valuable would 
some day or other be found. He picked up a musket 
ball while we were conversing with him, and we saw 
quantities of broken shells, and bits of cannon strew- 
ed over the field. We then went with him to his 
house, where he has quite a museum of these remains, 
and which he sells to strangers as mementos of 
" auld lang syne." 

Fort William-Henry was built during the year 
of the defeat of Dieskau, and was a regular fortifi- 
cation, affording quarters for more than 3000 men. 

In the year 1757 the French commander, 
Montcalm, taking advantage of Lord Loudon's 
absence, and burning with anxiety to revenge 
his former repulses before this very place, came up 
the lake in great force. 

Monsieur de Levi came by land with six com- 
panies of grenadiers, seven pickets of fifty men 
each, ten Canadian brigades, three hundred other 
Canadians, and eight hundred Indians. 

Montcalm brought with him by water three divi- 
sions of troops. In the first came the artillery with 
a numerous train, the regiments of La Reine, and 



OR, LETTERS FROM NEW-YORK. 93 

Languedoc, and a marine battalion. In the second 
came the regiment of {juienne and La Sarre, and 
the boats with the mortars, ammunition, and stores, 
guarded by the royal regiment of Rousillon. The 
rear guard consisted of Canadians commanded by 
Regaud, who had been defeated in a similar at- 
tempt. 

The English general Webb, according to the best 
accounts I could find, left the fort and went off with 
a quantity of artillery, and 4000 men, leaving be- 
hind him Colonel Munro, with 2000 men, to make 
the best defence he could. 

As the French approached, the Indians accompa- 
nying them, captured two English fishing boats, and 
massacred some of the boatmen Having learned 
from the survivors the departure of General Webb, 
they immediately left the bay a few miles N. E. from 
the head of the lake, and stood out in plain view 
from the fort with 120 canoes. Having extended 
them in a line across the lake, they set up, at a sig- 
nal, the most horrible battle cry that ever broke on 
an English ear. How dreadful must have been the 
sounds to the garrison cooped up in the fort. It 
was indeed a precursor to the horrible massacre that 
awaited their captivity. 

Montcalm invested the fort with 10,000 men. 
He erected his batteries on the site of the present 



94 AN englishman's sketch-book; ';» 

villages, his bomb battery played from the spot on 
which the county hall now stands, while his lines ex- 
tended to the foot of Rattle-snake Hill. 

General Webb lay at no great distance, while 
Montcalm made regular approaches, and kept up 
a tremendous fire on the garrison. They returned 
the fire with admirable spirit, until nearly all their 
cannon burst, and all their ammunition was ex- 
pended. This is the reason why there are so many 
pieces of cannon and mortars still found among the 
ruins. 

The French commander summoned them to sur- 
render on the very day of the investment, by his aid 
the Sieur Fontbrune, and insinuated (as did Bur- 
goyne at a subsequent period) that the Indians 
could not be controlled. Secured in the tops of 
trees, they picked off the inmates of the garrison if 
they were for an instant exposed. Colonel Munro 
sustained himself to the last moment with undaunted 
courage, nay, beyond the verge of prudence, until 
despairing of General Webb's assistance, and being 
unable to make further resistance, he struck his flag, 
and gave up Fort William-Henry to the French. 



OR, LETTERS FROM NEW-YORK. 95 



LETTER XI. 



u I do bespeak your patience." 



My DEAR I , 

I am too much interested in these interesting ru- 
ins, not to continue my researches. 

It appears that M. de Bourgainville carried the 
second summons to Col. Munro, and an intercepted 
letter from Gen. Webb, which gave no other ad- 
vice than that he must make the best terms he could. 
The surrender, and the violation of the articles of 
capitulation, are well known ; but it appears from 
the authority of major Mante of the engineers, to 
whose work I am indebted for the foregoing 
information,* that the Indians having made slaves of 
all the captured negroes and friendly savages, broke 
in upon the prisoners while waiting for an escort to 



96 AN ENGLISHMAN'S SKETCH-BOOK; 

Fort Edward, and commenced the massacre so ce- 
lebrated in our colonial annals. 

In vain did Montcalm rush among them, begging 
them to forbear the inhuman butchery ; in vain he 
bade the captives take refuge in his camp ; in vain 
he bared his own bosom to the knife, and implor- 
ed them to turn their fury upon him. Equally 
vain was his order to the prisoners to defend them- 
selves with the arms which they had been allowed to 
retain ; his entreaties, his orders were of no avail — 
the Indians could not be restrained, and the captives 
were panic struck. Many of the French officers 
were dangerously wounded in their attempts to se- 
cond their commander, and the captives only es- 
caped from complete destruction by flight to Fort 
Edward, or by escaping within the French lines. 

Such are the facts with regard to a transaction 
not yet forgotten. The graves of the sufferers are 
still to be seen on the fatal spot ; but Montcalm must 
be exculpated from the charge of shedding their 
blood. He deserves the charity which his own epi- 
taph at Quebec claims from the generosity of his 
enemies, and though written in France by a lite- 
rary society who loved and deplored him, yet it 
bears the mark of truth, and the massacre at Fort 
William-Henry must not be remembered against 
him. 



OR LETTERS FROM NEW-YORK. 97 

Colonel Munro was presented with a six-pounder, 
as a mark of the French commander's admiration 
for his gallant defence. 

Montcalm, after destroying- the fort, carried on 
the artillery, stores, and captured vessels to Ticonde- 
roga. It was never afterwards occupied. Such was 
the fate of Fort William-Henry, a post that attracted 
from time to time the attention of the whole ^military 
world. No longer on the frontier, a population has 
extended itself beyond its verge, and rendered it 
improbable that it can ever again become impor- 
tant. It witnessed the respective campaigns of 
Shirley, Abercrombie, and Amherst, against the 
French, and now stands the silent monitor of the 
plain. Far removed from the dangers of invasion, 
its site attracts the lovers of nature, and the artist 
who preserves her outlines may sit down among the 
ruins unharmed and undisturbed, to catch at the 
happy moments the light and shade which flash 
from the hills across its azure waters. 

All the romance of my disposition has been ex- 
cited by the scenery of the lake, and all the vivid- 
ness of my feelings by the memorable events I have 
recorded. You will find, I fear, the historic pre- 
vailing too much in this and the last letter, but the 
subject has attracted me, and I have made every 
effort in my power to trace the incidents which 
9 



9S AN ENGLISHMAN'S SKETCH-BOOK; 

must one day or other adorn the pages of the Ame- 
rican novelist. What contrasts of character, what 
varieties of scenery, what wonders of incident, what 
examples of heroism, are yet to be illustrated ! With 
what keenness of enjoyment will those of us who 
have visited the United States seize on the produc- 
tions of the writer who shall signalize himself as 
the chronicler of events, emulating the Crusades 
in their remoteness of action, and surpassing the 
romance of border history by scenery as pic- 
turesque, and events as peculiar — events consecrat- 
ed by the heroism of the knights of France, and 
the gentlemen of England ! 

Yours. 



OR, LETTERS FROM NEW-YORK. 99 



LETTER XII. 



It is an engine of a mighty power, 

Can batter down an adamantine wall. 

Or with new form, when factions cease to move, 

Tower like a hawk, or murmur like the dove ! 

Faust's Monument. 



My dear I , 

The Americans, like the Athenians, are always 
inquiring for news. If one friend meets another, 
his first question is, What news ? Such being the 
characteristic of this country, the liberty of the press 
follows as a matter of course ; and it is a remarka- 
ble trait which has always followed despotism, that 
the reverse of this attends its iron sway. Under a 
government which degrades men to the rank of 
slaves, it would be a dangerous, as well as unpro- 



100 AN ENGLISHMAN'S SKETCH-BOOK ; 

fitable inquiry, where they had nothing worse to 
dread, and nothing better to hope. The United 
States are filled with newspaper establishments, and 
there is scarcely a single village without its rival ga- 
zettes. The opinion of Mr. Jefferson I find is a 
favourite one, that " error is never dangerous where 
reason is left free to combat it." In the state of 
New-York there are at present ninety-nine weekly 
newspapers — one published thrice a week, and nine 
daily ones — in all one hundred and ten. This num- 
ber is rapidly increasing. One hundred and sixty- 
four thousand papers are distributed weekly, and 
eight millions and a half in a year — in value about 
two hundred and seventy thousand dollars. There 
are one hundred and fifty printing establishments, 
and from these are published annually a vast num- 
ber of literary and periodical works, books and 
pamphlets, whose number it is impossible to ascer- 
tain. The state of New- York is in this, as well as 
in many others respects, decidedly in advance of 
her sister states, and the world expects more from 
her on this very account. She bears indeed a to- 
lerable comparison with the three united kingdoms ; 
for the whole annual value of the profits of our 
books, papers and pamphlets, including the worth 
of the raw materials, and the labour bestowed upon 
them through all the various process of publication , 



OR, LETTERS FROM NEW-YORK. 101 

only amount, according to Colquhoun, to two mil- 
lions sterling. This estimate gives a high value to 
our labour, and includes the high prices of English 
publications ; while the estimates made here are 
founded upon the very cheap price of materials and 
labour peculiar to the country. 

If the newspapers be annually of the value of two 
hundred and seventy thousand dollars in this state, 
the amount of books republished and originated, 
from elementary and common school books, up to 
beautiful editions of new and standard works, is 
much greater than you would suppose. As no of- 
ficial statement has ever been made on this subject, 
I am unable to give you a definite account of their 
value. 

The press is not restrained in America by 
any stamp duty on newspapers, or tax upon ad- 
vertisements. It is protected by its cheapness 
and freedom ; in short, it is supported, protected, 
and restrained by itself. Isaiah Thomas, of Wor- 
cester, Massachusetts, is here considered the father 
of printing, and he has published a very valuable 
work in two volumes, in which the history of the 
art, in relation to this country, is ably given in all 
its interesting details. Among the miscellaneous 
facts of which 1 have been informed, having refer- 
ence to this subject, are these, that types are no 
9* 



102 AN ExNGLISHMAN T S SKETCH-BOOK ; 

longer imported from abroad, but are beautifully 
cut both in New-York, Philadelphia, and in all the 
principal cities of this country. 

I am also informed that the apparent anomaly has 
once or twice been witnessed of English manuscripts 
having been sent to this country to be printed, and 
that distinguished writers have deserted Albemarle- 
street, for their typographical rivals in the new 
world. 

The Americans are a reading people, and an edu- 
cating people. In this state a demand for books 
will be for ever increasing in a direct ratio with the 
population ; for the single and obvious reason that 
a large fund is provided by the constitution for the 
purposes of education, and every child in the state 
is within its benign influence. The more scholars 
the more books. This fund in 1820 amounted to 
one million, two hundred and fifteen thousand, five 
hundred and twenty-six dollars, producing a revenue 
of more than seventy-seven thousand dollars per an- 
num. The proceeds of all the lands belonging to 
the state, hereafter to be sold, are to be added to 
the cash fund in perpetuity. These lands are now 
valued at one million and a half of dollars, and are 
every day increasing in value. Every town and 
village in the state is divided into districts, and re- 
ceives its share of the annual interest of this fund, 



OR, LETTERS FROM NEW-YORK. 103 

for the support of common schools. In 1820, as it 
appears from the official returns, three hundred and 
four thousand, five hundred and fifty-nine children 
were instructed in the useful branches of education, 
solely through its means. Such a munificent pro- 
vision has not its equal in the world. The found- 
ling hospital of Catharine of Russia, the polytech- 
nique school of Paris, and the scholarships of 
the English universities, in comparison with this 
are only pioneers in the cause of liberty, religion and 
humanity. 

There is a vast quantity of agricultural, mercan- 
tile and political information diffused throughout 
the community, by means of the press, and it is the 
common medium of all addresses to the people. It 
is therefore an engine of tremendous power, and is 
able to produce the best or worst effects upon so- 
ciety. When once excited to opposition, by the 
corruption and profligacy of an administration, not 
all the influence of place or power can prevent its 
ultimate success. Individual editors may be affected 
by official patronage or personal attachments ; but 
a vast majority of them, particularly in the country, 
will be out of the reach of temptation to political 
dishonour. 

The printers and editors in the country acquire 
property readily, and are generally respectable men, 



104 AN englishman's sketch-book; 

from the peculiar habits which follow, and are inci- 
dent to the profession. The bust of Franklin, who 
commenced his career as a printer's boy, is a fa- 
vourite sign with them, and his memory is dear to 
every lover of a free press. At his onset in life a 
roll of bread saved him from death by hunger. He 
passed through all the perils and sorrows of youth, 
to the sufferer so hapless and hopeless, without sink- 
ing under 

" The rich man's scorn, the proud man's contumely;" 

until his talents, probity and honour surmounted 
even the hatred of Sir William Keith. The spark 
of liberty once excited in his breast, he appeared 
before a British house of commons to electrify them 
with the boldness and energy of his appeals to the 
justice of the crown. At Paris, as the accredited 
minister of his country, his sagacity, knowledge of 
men, and philosophical spirit, succeeded against all 
the secret management and artifices of legitimate 
diplomacy. 

By loans, recognitions of independence, and the 
actual fitting out of a large and respectable military 
force, at a moment when " hope deferred" had made 
every " heart sick," the philosopher of Passy gave a 
character to the destinies of his country, which even 
its allies, at the most disheartening moments, were 
proud to recognise and share with her. 



OR, LETTERS FROM NEW-YORK. 105 

In philosophy, as in politics, he was unrivalled ; 
and by a discovery surpassing all the daring of an- 
cient or modern times, drew from the clouds, and 
received, in the pride of splendid fearlessness, upon 
a smgle point, all the fury and lightnings of the 
storm ! His sayings have become proverbs, his 
writings are authority, his philosophy is every 
where received : his whole life was a moral ; his very 
epitaph is a lesson full of beauty and truth. 

" The body of 

Benjamin Franklin, Printer, 

Like the cover of an old book, 

Its contents torn out, 

And stript of its lettering and gilding, 

Lies here food for worms ; 

Yet the work itself shall not be lost, 

For it will (as he believed) appear once more, 

In a new 

And more beautiful edition, 

Corrected and amended 

by 

The AUTHOR." 

Yours. 



106 AN ENGLISHMAN'S SKETCH-BOOK; 



LETTER XIII. 



" Tempora mutantur, et nos mutamur in illis. 



MY DEAR I , 

While the proceedings of the late convention de- 
tained me in Albany, I was not entirely prevented 
from making other excursions for the gratification 
of my English predilections. A late visit to the 
old village of Johnstown, about forty miles from 
Albany, and the former residence of an English 
baronet, has afforded me some interesting facts, 
which I shall proceed to communicate to you. You 
have often traced on the old maps in the course of 
our reading together, the campaign of General Shir- 
ley ; and the name of Sir William Johnson, was 
also from other causes familiar to us ; but there are 
some incidents connected with both, which as yet, 



OR, LETTERS FROM NEW-YORK. 107 

have never reached you in England. All our 
official despatches and our coloniargazettes, had 
much to say of the latter gentleman, and our 
government, from a sense of his great influence 
with the Indian tribes, bestowed upon him as 
soon as it could, the usual rewards of place 
and pension. It appears, from an authentic bi- 
ography, that he was the nephew of Sir Peter 
Warren, the hero of Louisburg, and was born 
in Ireland, in 1714. Sir Peter having marri- 
ed a lady of New-York, purchased a large tract 
of land upon the Mohawk river ; but perceiving, 
from his constant employment in actual service, the 
necessity of having an agent, invited his nephew to 
come over to America in that character. Mr 
Johnson accepted the invitation in 1734, settled upon 
his uncle's lands, and studiously endeavoured, on 
all occasions, to acquire the confidence of the In- 
dians. He married an Indian woman, and soon af- 
ter obtained the almost exclusive monopoly of their 
trade. He bought their furs, and paid for them in 
goods, at an enormous profit. His wealth and in- 
fluence procured for him, in 1755, the command of 
the New-York provincial troops, and he moved for- 
ward to invest Crown Point, while General Shir- 
ley, in co-operation, took up his line of march for 
Ontario. Johnson was, however* attacked in his 



108 AN ENGLISHMAN'S SKETCH-BOOK; 

camp at Lake George, but, by the aid of his artil- 
lery, succeeded in putting to flight the French, and 
their Indian allies, with the loss of their commander, 
the Baron Dieskau. Either flushed with his victory, 
or jealous of the designs of Shirley, he turned about 
when Crown Point must inevitably have fallen, and 
returned to the city of Albany without striking an- 
other blow. The government seized on this trifling 
success, which was magnified into a victory, to at- 
tach him more closely to their interest. The House 
of Commons voted him £5000 sterling, and the 
king made him a baronet. He was then appointed 
superintendent of Indian affairs, and large sums of 
money were annually entrusted to him for the pur- 
pose of being given away in presents. In 1759, 
he was again in actual service, at the siege of Fort 
Niagara, and after his commanding officer, General 
Prideaux, was killed by the bursting of a cohorn, 
succeeded to the command, and gained great credit 
for the ability displayed upon that occasion. The 
fort surrendered on the 25th July, and six hundred 
men were taken prisoners. This broke up for ever 
the communication between the Canadas and Loui- 
siana, which had been the favourite project of the 
French, and partly carried into effect by the perse- 
vering efforts of their priests, and the individual 
xeal of father Hennepin, and the famous La Salle. 



OR, LETTERS FROM NEW-YORK. 109 

When General Amherst embarked at Oswego, in 
1760, for the conquest of Canada, Sir William 
Johnson appeared in force, with a thousand warriors 
of the Iroquois nation, the largest number that ever 
took the field in the cause of England. He died 
very suddenly, after coming out of the county court, 
of which he was judge, in 1774, at the age of sixty 
years. 

He was succeeded in his title and rank of major 
general by his son Sir John, who withdrew at the 
commencement of the revolution to Lower Cana- 
da, and was followed by the Mohawk nation. With 
these, and a motley troop of refugees, he carried 
on a predatory war, and made an incursion into the 
very settlement and destroyed the very village where 
his father and himself had lived. I have been told 
that he is still Irving in Montreal, and although very 
rich, is in comparative obscurity. The villa of Sir 
William still remains, and presents a fine appear- 
ance from the road, as you approach the village of 
Johnstown. It is quite in ruins, but must have 
once been a good building. There are some old 
people still living, who were servants in his family, 
and relate with the garrulity of age, strange anec- 
dotes of his benevolence and eccentricity. The 
English church and the gaol were both built by 
him, in a manner more adapted to feudal than mo- 
10 



110 AN ENGLISHMAN'S SKETCH-BOOK; 

dern times. Contributions were laid on his tenants, 
and every man of them was obliged to bring his 
proportion of materials, and contribute his propor- 
tion of work. He was fond of giving fetes and 
observing holidays, and the whole population were 
frequently assembled to practise sports, and engage 
in athletic contests, which are now only to be found 
in the records of the antiquary. Old women were 
persuaded to run races in sacks for the then irre- 
sistible temptation of a pound of tea. A soaped 
pig rewarded the tenacious gripe of the successful 
adventurer, and all the varieties of old English 
games were preserved and flourished at Johnson 
Hall. 

His house was often crowded with English visi- 
ters of distinction, who overlooked in his official 
importance the immoralities of his domestic life. 
The celebrated Duchess of Gordon, who visited 
New-York about this period, was attracted to his 
house by the novelty of an Indian treaty. The love 
of adventure was her ruling passion, and to gratify 
it she made a long journey through pathless woods, 
with no other attendants than a party of savages. It 
is also said, that they were delighted with her mascu- 
line character, and that they made her a present of a 
tract of land near the sources of the Susquehannah, 
which is still called by her name. 



OR, LETTERS FROM NEW-YORK. Ill 

The first inquiry I made, was for the place of his 
burial. The sexton of the church acted as my guide, 
and he took me into the venerable building, under 
the pulpit of which the remains of the baronet re- 
pose. The vault was formerly so wet, that the cof- 
fin floated about in it below. The lid is still to 
be seen in the gallery, and a new one has supplied 
its place. It is of large size, made of mahogany, 
and bears a rude inscription, formed with brass 
nails — 

" Sir Wm. 
Johnson Bt. 
Obiit 1774." 
The sexton knew the privilege of his place as 
well as the old woman who shows the regalia in the 
tower. A douceur made him quite affable, and I 
brought away with me a small piece of the coffin, 
which I shall send you by the first opportunity. A 
few weeks previous to my visit, some of Sir William's 
descendants paid a visit to Johnstown, and carried 
away many interesting relics connected with their 
family history. 

The church is ancient in its appearance, and the 
pews of the Johnson family remain with their cano- 
pies entire. I was very much pleased with the old 
organ, which he presented to it, and which I am 
told has rarely been tuned, since it came out from 



112 AN ENGLISHMAN'S SKETCH-BOOK ; 

England. It still has compass, power, and sweet- 
ness, and as it pealed its notes through the vacant 
aisles, and its full chords broke on the ear, I was 
carried back in imagination to days " lang syne," 
when the prayers, the chants, and the offices of the 
church, overawed the savages with their solemn 
grandeur. 

Sir William's son resided at a fortified residence, 
called Fort Johnson, and his son-in-law, Guy John- 
son, lived at Guy Park — now the country seat of an 
American lawyer. Traces have even lately been 
discovered of the warlike character of the former 
possessors. Swords have been turned up by the 
ploughshare, and gold and silver coins have been 
discovered in the walls of the houses at Guy 
Park. Some very old trees have still their re- 
spective traditions, and many a spot in the ad- 
jacent meadows has been consecrated to never-dy- 
ing interest. 

But how altered must every thing be, when an 
eminent civilian now seeks repose from the cares of 
business, where formerly every step was accompa- 
nied by the din of arms ! I have lately met, howe- 
ver, with a well written pamphlet, from the pen of a 
Governor Livingston, of New-Jersey, and Messrs. 
Smith and Scott, formerly two respectable lawyers 
of the city of New-York, which calls in question 



OR, LETTERS FROM NEW-YORK. 113 

the talents and the influence of Sir William. In a live- 
ly caricature, they represent him ever posting to Al- 
bany, with minutes of his Indian treaties, followed by 
half a dozen painted savages, and then posting 
back again — they say that the "descensus averni" 
was to him not easier on any occasion, than the 
" revocare gradum." That he would without any 
reasonable cause or notice, call out the militia of the 
adjacent counties, and tire them out with ineffectual 
service, and false alarms, by which means his in- 
fluence with the Mohawk tribe, when the militia 
were worn out with fatigue, became important in 
time of actual danger. They also charge him 
with a deep intrigue with Mr. Delancey, lieu- 
tenant governor of the province, which terminated, 
as they designed, in the ruin of General Shirley, 
and the loss of Fort Oswego. This may, or may 
not be true, but it gives a strong and powerful elu- 
cidation of colonial politics — it shows, as in his 
case, how talent may be hunted down by the untiring 
pursuit of artful and unprincipled men — how often 
retirement is the fate of merit, and loss of popularity 
follows even the most splendid career. 

General history is instructive, but the memoirs of 

individuals leave their moral on the heart. Local 

history catches half its interest from the characters 

that occupied its scenes, and the spot which oftenest 

10* 



114 AN englishman's sketch-book; 

excites our emotions has been the theatre of indi- 
vidual glory. 

However peaceful the halls of the Johnsons now 
are, and however tranquil their present condition, 
yet there have been times when the river side has 
been alive with the bustle of embarkation, and 
every echo was awakened by the shouts of contend- 
ing warriors. How must the poor neighbouring 
palatines have been harassed by this incessant war- 
fare ! To them the rich flats and fertile valleys of 
the Mohawk were a dear-bought and scarce main- 
tainable possession, and many a flight through the 
snows of winter bore witness to their peril and 
alarm. 

I have heard that some of them, worn out with 
suffering, quite broken-hearted, and with a despe- 
rate philosophy, returned to Germany to die ; count- 
ing it better to suffer the evils from which their fa- 
thers fled, than to remain and encounter others 
which " they knew not of." 

Should there be any mistakes in this statement, 
make due allowance with your habitual charity — 
the fault will lie with my materials. In private 
history, with all its advantages, the passions are too 
often annotators, and prejudice, I am sorry to con- 
fess, gives colour to every transaction. 

Yours. 



OR, LETTERS FROM NEW-YORK. 115 



LETTER XIV. 



At last with easy roads he came to Leicester. 

Henry VIII. 



My DEAR I , 

Curiosity has again induced me to visit Albany. 
With my note book in my hand, I wandered about 
in its interesting vicinity, and have, I believe, put 
down every particular which is worthy of being re- 
lated. Albany, or as it was first called, Oranien- 
burgh, is in north latitude 42° 45', and 73° 30' 
west longitude from the royal observatory at Green- 
wich, and is distant from New- York about 145 
miles. At Albany all the great western turnpike 
roads terminate — the grand canal unites with the 
Hudson, and an unparalleled river affords the 
greatest facilities to trade. From the opposite 



116 



side of the river, in some respects, it resembles 
Richmond, in Virginia ; but although the two ca- 
pitals or government houses are both built on emi- 
nences, and overlook the water, yet Richmond is 
smaller, and there are rapids opposite the town 
which destroy any further resemblance. 

Albany is very unlike what it was. It is de- 
scribed by Kalm and Mrs. Grant of Laggan, as 
being quite small, situated under a steep hill, hav- 
ing two principal streets, which crossed each other 
and that in the middle of the largest all the public 
buildings were placed — the English church, guard 
house, town hall and market. The town had a 
rural appearance. Every door was shaded with 
trees, and every house had its garden. Those who 
were so fortunate as to have lots bordering on the 
ritfer had delightful gardens, from whence the water 
prospect was admirable. A fort rather slight, 
but yet a regular stockade, crowned the hill, and 
pointed a few pieces of cannon from its peace- 
ful embrasures. The first commander was a Cap- 
tain Massey, the father of Mrs. Lenox, Dr. John- 
son's favourite friend. It was afterwards com- 
manded by Captain Winepress, and garrisoned by 
regular troops of the 55th regiment. The English 
church, which was in the diocese of the bishop of 
London, was immediately under its walls, and the 



OR, LETTERS FROM NEW-YORK. 117 

canons of the spiritual were protected by those of 
the temporal kingdom. 

From this, Albany is quite changed. It is ex- 
tended over a much larger surface, and has a popu- 
lation of nearly eighteen thousand inhabitants, 
which in six years will be increased to twenty thou- 
sand. The steep hill already mentioned has been 
cut away, and State-street has no longer a line of 
public buildings in its centre. A large massy build- 
ing of free stone, called the capitol, is the place of 
the legislative sessions. It has three fronts of a very 
common design, and a portico at the east front over 
the grand entrance, whose wooden roof is support- 
ed by marble pillars. These are Corinthian, and 
although very large, rest upon bases of only six 
inches thickness. The steps to the entrance are 
made of thin strips of stone, and are much too small 
to harmonize with the general air of the building. 
A large area, or rather court, within the entrance, 
and paved with marble which came out as ballast 
many years since from Italy, is surrounded by 
rooms appropriated to the use of public bodies. 
The senate and assembly meet in two large and 
handsome rooms below, and the county courts, and 
the sessions of the judges in banco, are held in a 
tasteful room in the upper story, surmounted by a 
dome. Over the legislative halls are committee 



118 an englishman's sketch-book; 

rooms, and others appropriated to a state society 
for the promotion of the useful arts. A few hun- 
dred feet to the north of this stands a fine building 
in free stone, called the academy, and devoted to 
litera^ pursuits. The cupola of this is in admira- 
ble taste. I was pleased with a marble banking 
house in Market-street, the interior of which 
is lighted by a glass dome. It is chaste and 
correct in its proportions, and has niches in the 
wall, which should properly be ornamented with 
statues. The churches are well constructed, but 
have so great a resemblance to each other, particu- 
larly in their steeples, that I should not be surprised 
to hear that one architect had designed them all. 

The Indian trade was formerly the principal ob- 
ject of the Albanians, and a driving business was* 
carried on. Blankets, beads, and spirits were paid 
for by the natives in valuable furs, and even 
the French came from Canada to purchase goods 
for their own barter with them. To guard, how- 
ever, against the ferocity of the savages, there 
were pickets about the town, and gates at the north 
and south ends of the city, which are not yet for- 
gotten. Among the peculiarities of the city were 
some feudal customs, belonging to the manor 
of Rensselaerwick, and which have not yet 
ceased to exist. A princely territory was ob- 



OR, LETTERS FROM NEW-YORK. 119 

tained by one family, and among its descendants it 
continues still to be preserved. An immense in- 
fluence followed its possession, and the entailment 
of the estate would have of course continued it 
down to the latest posterity. But a statute of allo- 
dial import has cut it off, and the present owner is 
the last who enjoys the hereditary honours. This 
person is an exact model of our wealthy English 
landholders, but adds to the possession of wealth 
a liberal mind, and generous munificence. His 
name is at the head of every public charity; it 
is first in every humane enterprise ; it is synoni- 
mous with virtue and philanthropy. In political 
life he now passes without remark — in private life 
he is the most amiable of men. 

It is fortunate for the tenants of this family, that 
the present Patroon, as by Dutch courtesy he is 
universally styled, possesses the suavity and excel- 
lence of heart ascribed to him. For strange to 
say, the tenure by which his property is held, 
is of the most abject kind, and retains traits of 
barbarism at war with the feelings and princi- 
ples of an enlightened age. Personal service 
is one of the conditions yet to be found in his 
leases, a badge of villeinage that does not comport 
with the spirit of republicanism ; and fines on alien- 
ation, or quarter sales, as they are here termed, 



120 an englishman's sketch-book; 

still clog the possession of many a valuable inheri- 
tance. 

The importance of this family in the early histo- 
ry of the colony is well known to the antiquaries of 
Albany. An island called Bear island, a few miles 
below the city, was actually fortified, and held in the 
name of one of the early patrons, as an independent 
sovereignty, and it is a matter of history, that a 
shallop sailing down the river, was fired into for 
not lowering her flag in honour of the manorial dig- 
nity. The unlucky skipper, it is true, remonstra- 
ted against the indignity shown the flag of their 
high mightinesses, the States General, but without 
gaining any redress for the insult. The com- 
mander of the fort, in a reply to a communication 
from the attorney general at Fort Orange, justified 
his conductby the words of his master's patent, and 
added, that he had fortified his settlement on Bear 
island, " to keep out the canker of freemen." 

The river navigation was formerly attended with 
more difficulty than at present. The spirit of the 
age was a cautious one. The captains of sloops 
made as many preparations for a voyage down the 
river, as if they were about to cross the ocean. Great 
dependence was placed on the tides, and prayers 
for wind were perpetually addressed to heaven. 
At the overslaugh, or bar, a few miles below the city 



OR, LETTERS FROM NEW-YORK. 121 

of Albany, they experienced great detention, and 
this too although, according to Kalm, their barks 
were only of about 40 tons burthen. The present 
number of sloops owned at Albany, of 80 tons and 
upwards, is very large, and a great trade with New- 
York is kept up with them. The manners of the 
inhabitants were very peculiar. They were colour- 
ed by, and partook of, in a great degree, the sim- 
plicity of the times. Now and then the arrival of 
a new governor, or a meeting of the Five Nations, 
called forth a new train of incidents, and a red coat 
had then, as now, its bewildering effect upon the 
simplicity of female hearts. General Abercrom- 
bie had his head-quarters in the city of Albany for 
some time, and a large body of troops lay encamped 
in what is called the Pasture. Sir Jeffery (after- 
wards lord) Amherst, also established his head- 
quarters there in 1759, previous to his brilliant 
campaign in Canada, and the capitulation of Mons. 
de Vandreuil. This was the greatest event in its 
history. A large force lay in its suburbs — in every 
part of the town was heard " the note of prepara- 
tion." During the few hours of leisure which the 
necessary preparation for the campaign afforded, a 
theatre was fitted up by the officers, and the Beaux 
Stratagem was performed to a delighted audience. 
Parties of pleasure were set on foot, and every ad- 
11 



122 AN ENGLISHMAN'S SKETCH-BOOK; 

jacent island in the river was explored. Fishing 
tackle became part of the contents of every lady's 
basket, and old Izaak Walton would have been 
in ecstasies, at their triumphs over the finny tribe. 
The military bands vied with each other for distinc- 
tion, and the music from the boats which floated 
with the current down towards the encampment, was 
heard by groups of listeners on the shore. To these, 
as yet slightly acquainted with the effect of instru- 
ments, every sound was full of beauty, every note 
occasioned delight. When the different boats had 
passed the town, and the moonlight serenade was 
over, they would turn slowly back to their dwellings, 
only in dreams of to-morrow's pleasure, forgetting 
the remembrance of to-day. 

Among the distinguished persons who have been 
to Albany, Lady Harriet Ackland, and the Baro- 
ness Reidesel are well known. Under the hospita- 
ble roof of the celebrated General Schuyler, every 
attention was paid them which wealth could afford, 
or delicacy suggest. The horrors of an eventful 
campaign, and the pangs which rend the bosom of 
a wife, had only excited in these two accomplished 
females the anticipation of new misfortunes. Judge 
of their surprize on becoming the inmates of a 
mansion where the virtues of benevolence and hu- 
manity flourished in all their loveliness — where re- 



OR, LETTERS FROM NEW-YORK. 123 

pose, quiet, and ease were superadded to the charms 
of hospitality — where the disgrace of defeat was 
soothed by the voice of friendship ; and where, in 
the storms which an ill attempted invasion had raised, 
they found and enjoyed all the kindness of brothers, 
lovers, and kinsmen. 

Yours. 



124 AN englishman's sketch-book 



LETTER XV. 



" Arma cedant togae. " 



MY DEAR I , 

The diplomatic affairs of this country are per- 
haps the only things in which the characteristic en- 
terprize of the people has not been successful. The 
Machiavelian policy of European courts has too 
often confounded the straight forward principles of 
American negociation. It never has yet been the 
good fortune of this people entirely to preserve that 
neutral character which is so much the desire of 
the nation, and which they have twice been obliged 
to maintain by the thunders of their cannon. Theirs 
has not yet been a career of the success which they 
had hoped to attain ; the world is too envious, and 
their rivals are too much interested, to sit the silent 
spectators of a splendid neutrality. 



OR, LETTERS FROM NEW-YORK. 125 

The first regular negociations of this country 
were with France. There were colonial disputes 
between England and her dependencies at a very 
early period ; but these were the language of au- 
thority and recrimination, of suffering and of de- 
nunciation, and not the reciprocities of "even- 
handed justice." 

The French treaties to which I allude, styled 
treaties of amity, commerce, and alliance, were ne- 
gociated in 177S, at Paris, and were brought about 
by the indefatigable exertions of Dr. Franklin, as- 
sisted by Arthur Lee and Silas Deane. These 
identified France with America, until the war of in- 
dependence was secured, and recognized the funda- 
mental principles of liberty, neutrality, and free 
trade. They also made a reciprocity of advanta- 
ges the basis of all future commercial arrangements. 
As an equivalent, however, the Americans were 
obliged to submit to a momentous responsibility, 
a guarantee to the French of their possessions in 
America — but it was not long before the French na- 
tion took occasion, under numerous pretences arising 
out of the twenty-seventh article, which permitted 
search for contraband goods, to capture a large num- 
ber of American vessels. This difficulty arose, not 
from any real unfriendliness in his Most Christian 
Majesty towards the United States, but because he 
11* 



126 AN ENGLISHHAN'S SKETCH-BOOK; 

was disposed to distress the commerce of England 
in every possible shape. A spirited remonstrance 
was made by the republican ambassadors ; but the 
distressing situation of the French government, which 
every day was plunged deeper into trouble, seemed 
to have prevented any thing like a settlement of these 
difficulties. In 1793, the unfortunate Louis fell him- 
self a victim, after having had his best friends driven 
from his confidence, and among them Sartine and 
Neckar, who were the principal props of his admin- 
istration. 

In the confusion which followed his death the 
causes of complaint grew more serious, the revolu- 
tion increased them. The conduct of Mr. Genet 
excited a warmer disapprobation ; and Washington 
himself lost all patience with the representative of 
the great nation. Ministers were from time to time 
sent out and recalled by the respective governments. 
Genet and Adet, Munroe and Pinckney, alike had 
" their exits and their entrances." In 1797 Messrs. 
Pinckney, Marshall, and Gerry made another effort 
to negociate ; and these diplomatists, it is said, car- 
ried on a mysterious correspondence by means of 
cyphers, and a lady celebrated by Voltaire, which 
ended in their complete discomfiture, through the 
management of Tallyrand. 

In 1798 a solemn renunciation of the French 
treaties was made by the American congress. In 



OR, LETTERS FROM NEW-YORK. 127 

two days afterwards acts were passed which were 
virtually the commencement of hostilities. The 
merchantmen were authorised to defend themselves, 
and some of the large vessels of war were sent out 
for their protection. The capture of the French 
frigate l'lnsurgente followed close upon this, and a 
brilliant naval victory was the first dawning of that 
high career, which has since attended their " march 
upon the mountain wave." 

Peace was, however, the wish of the American 
cabinet : gratitude to their ancient ally forbade the 
further continuance of hostilities ; and it has been 
said, but with what truth I cannot learn, that the 
American commission, sent out for the purpose of 
pacification, was actually instructed to give up the 
principle that " free ships make free goods." On 
the 30th of September, 1800, chief justice Ellsworth, 
of the supreme court of the United States, in con- 
junction with governor Davie, of North Carolina, 
and Mr. Vans Murray, resident minister at the 
Hague, met a representation of the French repub- 
lic, consisting of Monsieur Fleurieu, Roederer, and 
Joseph Bonaparte, the ex-king of Spain. By these 
persons the treaty of 1778, and the broad princi- 
ples which were laid down in that instrument, were 
recognized. An indemnity was promised for losses 
which arose out of the captures made under citizen 



128 AN ENGLISHMAN'S SKETCH-BOOK; 

Genet's letters of marque. Free ships were allow- 
ed to make free goods, and French privateers were 
not permitted to be fitted out in American ports 
against nations in amity with the country. Many 
other mutual engagements were made by them, and 
accordingly ratified ; but at the time loud complaints 
were raised against the treaty, and the spoliations 
on the commerce of the United States, it was al- 
leged, were not, and could not be, compensated for 
under its provisions. Here, however, the parties 
rested. The next negociation had a better termi- 
nation, and was one of the chief glories of Mr. Jef- 
ferson's administration. Its object and result were 
the acquisition of the valuable territory of Louisi- 
ana, a province producing the staple articles of su- 
gar, rice, indigo, cotton, and tobacco — its capital 
city situated on the river Mississippi, and the na- 
tural depot of an immense and productive country. 
This province had ever been the darling of both its 
French and Spanish step-mothers, and had often 
turned the scale with them in the otherwise general 
equality of their claims. By an express article in 
the celebrated treaty of San Lorenzo el real, in 
1795, the American merchants were permitted to 
deposit their goods at New Orleans, but the Spanish 
intendente so often disturbed them in this privilege, 
and so often oppressed them with unreasonable ex- 



129 

actions, that the yoke became insupportable. He 
even went so far as to declare of his own authority 
that the treaty was no longer binding, having expir- 
ed by its own limitation. 

The nation was at once in a flame, and the spirit 
cf the country was invoked to resent the insult. 
Every forum orator, taking his language from the 
Roman tragedy, cried, 



" Gods ! can a Roman senate long debate 
Which of the two to choose, slavery or death ?" 



But Mr. Jefferson had a calm, philosophical spi- 
rit, which has gained him deserved honour. By his 
influence, an able report of a committee in congress 
was obtained, which recommended negociation and 
conciliatory measures. Should these fail, said the 
report, we have still left us an appeal to arms, made 
more solemn and justifiable by our previous conduct. 
The report was read and adopted, and two millions 
of dollars were intrusted to the president to carry 
the plan into effect. The country sanctioned the 
measure. James Munroe and Robert R. Living- 
ston were appointed the agents of the government, 
and a purchase of the important territory was made 
in 1S03, for sixty millions of francs, with the as- 
sumption of the debts due from France to the Uni- 



130 AN englishman's sketch-book ; 

ted States. Under this arrangement, Spain having 
bound herself previously to France to permit a re- 
entry, the Americans added to their territory one of 
the most valuable provinces in the world. Several 
commercial regulations, which in legal phraseology 
were only interlocutory ones, have since at various 
times been entered into, and the French Berlin 
and Milan decrees for a time gave occasion for 
much resentment; but a treaty has just been con- 
cluded between the two countries, which is intended 
to be final and decisive. Mr. Adams, American 
secretary of state, and the Baron Hyde de Neuville, 
arranged it together in this country; but some 
highly respectable men have, it is said, reduced it 
to certainty by their calculation, that by its provi- 
sions the French have all the advantages of trade, 
and that a preference is actually given by them to 
French bottoms ! If true, this is a blunder of some 
consequence. It is a singular fact, that at present 
there is no existing treaty of amity and alliance be- 
tween the two countries ; and if new difficulties 
arise, there being no basis on which to adjust them, 
a resort will be found necessary either to arms, or — 
new negotiations. 

This is a brief sketch, and I believe it is a correct 
one, of the diplomatic relations of France and the 
United States. 



OR, LETTERS FROM NEW-YORK. 131 

Let me finish this letter with a word on Mr. Jef- 
ferson, that " statesman — patriot — sage !" 

Although old age has driven him to retirement, 
and his head is white with years, yet his fame is an 
immortal fabric, founded upon acknowledged vir- 
tue and patriotic deeds. 

He is the author of the celebrated Notes on Vir- 
ginia, and the Declaration of Independence. He is 
the statesman who gained Louisiana without a drop 
of blood, and whose policy will stand the test of 
time. His maxims, it is true, have been of late out 
of fashion in this country — a free way of spending 
the public money, and a total contempt of its agri- 
cultural and manufacturing interests, followed the 
change of times. But Mr. Jefferson, in my opin- 
ion, is about to rise still higher in the estimation of 
his countrymen. Economy is once more the order 
of the day, and even the unpopularity of the small 
craft, which he projected, is about to be done away 
by their adoption in the suppression of the West 
India picaroons. In short, his whole course of 
conduct is now receiving unqualified praise. You 
know it has never been determined by the critics, 
for whom the celebrated ode of Horace, 

" Justum et tenacem propositi virum," 



132 AN ENGLISHMAN'S SKETCH-BOOK; 

was intended. It has always seemed to me, that 
among the moderns, no one has so fully deserved its 
application as Mr. Jefferson. 

If an inflexible faith, just principles, tenacity of 
purpose, a mind superior to fear, a calm tranquilli- 
ty amidst the uncertainty of events ; if the " stet 
capitolium fulgens," the splendid stability of go- 
vernment, the wide spreading and perpetuity of his 
country's glory, which in this ode are the subjects 
of deserved praise, were to become the topics of an 
American Horace, Mr. Jefferson would be the vi- 
sion of his mind's eye, and the object of his time- 
honoured eulogy. 

Yours. 



OR, LETTERS FROM NEW-YORK. 133 



LETTER XVI. 



With thee conversing, I forget all time — 
All seasons and their change, all please alike. 

Milton - . 



My dear I , 

My last letter had reference to France and 
America, and this chiefly relates to our own diffi- 
culties with the latter country. A long and arduous 
struggle for independence at length convinced the 
English ministry that reconciliation was impossi- 
ble. By the opposition, the truth had long been 
promulgated, and the eloquent Colonel Barre, had 
more than once declared, that America would never 
lay down her arms, until her liberties were trium- 
phantly achieved. But it would have been a loss of 
profit, and a loss of place to the ministry, to have 
immediately given up their plans, though they 
found them hopeless. Interest prevailed over a 
12 



134 AN englishman's sketch-book; 

sense of justice, and the colonies were doomed to 
suiter for two campaigns longer all the miseries of 
war, when it was well ascertained by the cabinet 
that further hostilities were unavailing. The late 
king, it is said, indulged a personal feeling in the 
contest, and that when he found he had lost " the 
brightest jewel in his crown," he gave way to the 
passion of grief and resentment. 

On the 30th November, in 1782, provisional 
articles of peace were signed by John Jay, Benja- 
min Franklin, and John Adams, on the part of the 
United States, and Richard Oswald, on the part of 
England. By these the United States were recog- 
nized as free, sovereign, and independent; their 
boundaries were ascertained, the right to fish on the 
banks of Newfoundland was acknowledged, the 
debts of both countries were allowed to be col- 
lected, the navigation of the Mississippi was gua- 
ranteed to both, and negroes, public property, 
and conquests were to be restored. The defini- 
tive treaty of peace followed on the 30th of 
September, 1783, and was signed at Paris, by the 
American gentlemen already named, and by Dr. 
Hartley, for our government. This was confirma- 
tory of the provisional articles, and its intention in 
the words of the treaty, was " to forget all past 
misunderstandings." These negociations, however, 



OR, LETTERS FROM NEW-YORK. 135 

were not to be conclusive until France should treat 
with Great Britain. The olive branch had scarcely 
reached America, before it was followed by memo- 
rials of alleged violations, and it had scarcely been 
welcomed, before loud outcries were made against 
our government. The Americans complained that 
their negroes were still retained in foreign servitude, 
and that the western posts were not yet evacuated. 
The conduct of Sir Guy Carleton, (Lord Dorches- 
ter) was particularly disapproved. This gentleman 
retained possession of the city of New-York for a 
long time after the signing of the treaty, and it was 
not until the 25th November, 1783, that he slowly 
withdrew the garrison from the town, and gave up 
to their legitimate owners the possession and enjoy- 
ment of their long lost homes. 

In addition to all this, it was said, that as long 
as the British frontier posts were retained, the west- 
ern territories would not be safe, and that the In- 
dians, confident in the protection of their red allies, 
would continue to " wake the sleep of the cradle," 
and " ambush the path that led to the dwellings" of 
the emigrant. 

On our side it was contended, that the 4th, 5th, 
and 6th articles were equally violated by the Ameri- 
cans ; that the payment of debts so solemnly guar- 
anteed, was delayed, that property still continued to 



136 AN englishman's sketch-book ; 

be confiscated, and individuals prosecuted for their 
conduct during the war. While the Americans 
complained of our encroachments on the St. Croix 
line, we replied with equal warmth, that they were ac- 
tually forming settlements, and establishing colonies 
within the British lines. Difficulty followed diffi- 
culty, and many a thought " was turned on war," 
the " last resort of nations." Out of these recrimi- 
nations, and the danger of war, arose the pre- 
sent system of American confederation, which 
has the appearance of strength, convenience, and 
durability. Mr. Madison, then in the legislature 
of Virginia, foreseeing the dangers and misfortunes 
to which a temporary union of the states was inci- 
dent, had the boldness to propose a convention, and 
the adoption of a new constitution ! After several 
preparatory meetings, the plan was adopted by all 
the states. Just before this, however, in 1785, John 
Adams was again sent abroad to the court of St. 
James, but his attempts to give stability to the com- 
mercial relations of the two countries were entirely 
frustrated. His demands for redress, though not 
very loud or vigorous, as it has been said, were met 
by the Marquis Carnathen with claims of equal 
magnitude. Said Mr. Adams, you envy our grow- 
ing trade, and you are endeavouring to prevent 
our amicable arrangements with the court of Lis- 



OR, LETTERS FROM NEW-YORK. 137 

bon. We will not, said the Marquis Carnathen, in 
reply, commit ourselves by any positive agreements 
with a nation possessing such a contrariety of in- 
terests, and not yet settled into any definite form of 
government. Mr. Adams did not gain much credit 
by this negociation, and the principal event of his 
embassy, as he has almost himself acknowledged, 
was his introduction and conversation with the king ! 
In 1793, a war between England and France 
was declared, which placed America in a new and 
awkward predicament, and involved questions of 
the highest importance to her welfare. President 
Washington recommended a rigid system of neu- 
trality to be publicly declared by proclamation, 
and this coarse was immediately adopted. The 
French nation, by an appearance of friendship and 
moderation, and by a lenient construction of the 
laws of nations, seemed at first anxious to draw 
America into the controversy ; while England, by 
an order in council in 1793, authorized her cruizers 
to stop all vessels carrying corn, flour, or meal, to 
French ports, or ports in their occupation. This 
seemed indeed to wield the trident, and every bal- 
lad singer in England, catching new ardour from 
the menacing position of his country, cried, 

" Britannia, Britannia, rules the main."' 

12* 



133 AN englishman's sketch-book 



In addition to this, the impressment of American 
seamen was openly defended, and many an honest 
American tar, who was so unfortunate as to speak 
in intelligible English, was torn from his country, 
in the sight of his native shores, and doomed to 
servitude more wretched than death itself. 

Restrictive measures were adopted by the Ameri- 
can congress, and a resolution passed both houses 
prohibiting foreign trade for thirty days. At this 
critical juncture, a letter was received from Mr. 
Pinckney, then at London, communicating the in- 
telligence that additional regulations for British 
commanders, dated 8th January, 1794, had been 
made, which modified considerably the rigours of 
the instructions of the preceding November. The 
substance of this modification was, that the vessels 
subject to capture were neutral vessels, trading with 
French islands, and laden with French cargoes. 
In consequence of this information, Mr. Jay, amidst 
a great variety of opinions and feelings, was nomi- 
nated envoy extraordinary to our court. 

This gentleman concluded a treaty in Novem- 
ber, 1794, with Lord Grenville, and it reached this 
country a few months afterwards. Reciprocal com- 
merce, the evacuation of the western posts, recipro- 
cal trade with the Indians, a reservation of rivers, 
the freedom of the Mississippi, compensation for 



OR, LETTERS FROM NEW-YORK. 139 

losses to British creditors, and illegal captures of 
the American merchantmen ; sacredness of mutual 
debts, and moneys in the funds ; the trade of Ame- 
rican vessels of seventy tons with the West Indies, 
in the same commodities carried by British cruizers ; 
their direct trade to the East Indies, with liberty to 
touch at St. Helena, (each party placed on the most 
friendly footing in each other's ports,) were all pro- 
vided for by this treaty. 

England reserved to herself, however, some im- 
portant advantages — the equalization of tonnage, 
the imposition of countervailing duties, and the li- 
berty of detaining vessels until their contraband 
goods were taken from them ; after which they 
might proceed on their voyages. Many other ar- 
ticles were agreed upon, to place the two nations on 
a friendly footing. But the reservations were of 
too important a nature not to excite attention. 
The general good feeling which appeared through- 
out the treaty, was overlooked in the tremendous 
consequences of the right of search and the right 
of impressment. Mr. Jay declared the treaty was 
the best he could obtain ; and a most eloquent dis- 
cussion of its merits took place on the floor of con- 
gress. It was on this occason that the celebrated 
Fisher Ames made his greatest effort, and however 
his political feeling might have been, secured to 



140 AN ENGLISHMAN'S SKETCH-BOOK; 

himself a reputation for eloquence of which his 
country is justly proud. It is said, that under the 
influence of this particular speech, a motion pre- 
vailed to postpone taking the sense of the house 
on the resolution before them, while " under the 
influence of a sensibility, which their calm judg- 
ment might condemn." The treaty was ratified, 
but it did not terminate the differences of the two 
countries. Mr. Rufus King was sent out in 1796, 
and returned in 1S03 without having adjusted any 
of them satisfactorily. Messrs. Monroe and Pinck- 
ney were, in 1806, authorized tonegociate with the 
British ministry, and even these gentlemen, not- 
withstanding the splendid talents of Mr. Pinckney, 
were unable to procure any better terms. In 1S06 
a treaty was based upon the former unavailing ne- 
gotiations, and sent to this country to be ratified ; 
but Mr. Jefferson indignantly rejected it on his own 
responsibility, because it was silent on the subject 
of impressment, and contained an invidious article, 
which was almost certain to embroil America with 
France. 

The unfortunate affair of the Chesapeake occur- 
red about this time, to heighten the difficulties be- 
tween the two countries. 

To give these two gentlemen an efficient support, 
and to obtain redress for the capture of the Chesa- 



OR, LETTERS FROM NEW-YORK. 141 

peake, an embargo was laid in 1807 on the prin- 
cipal articles of importation into England, having 
been actually passed, however, on the 18th April, 
1806. Our government retaliated by a paper 
blockade, of S00 miles from the Elbe to Brest, with- 
out sending a single vessel to support it. Napo- 
leon replied with a decree from his camp at Berlin, 
declaring England and her territories in a state of 
blockade. Our orders in council followed in 1S07, 
declaring all neutral vessels liable to capture, bound 
to or coming from France and her dependencies. 
As a sur-rejoinder, the French Emperor, by his Mi- 
lan decree, denationalized all vessels submitting to 
a search from, or paying a tax to, the English. In 
March, 1808, our famous bill was passed for the 
payment of transit duties, and the taking out licen- 
ces to trade by neutrals, and thus did the commer- 
cial affairs of this country remain, until Mr. Er- 
skine entered into an arrangement at Washington, 
on the part of England, which bade fair to bring 
about a cordial reconciliation. But the ministry 
rejected his negociation, and basely added, that 
" he had exceeded his instructions." 

A repeal of the orders in council, atonement for 
the insult to the frigate Chesapeake, and a resto- 
ration of commerce, were by this unexpected con- 
duct prevented, and rendered as difficult and un- 



142 AN englishman's sketch-book; 

certain as ever. The American non-intercourse 
act of 1S09, followed as a matter of course, and it 
was no wonder that the Americans declared war. 
Had I been an American, I should have held up 
both hands for its declaration, and engaged actively 
in its support. I would have defended it to the ut- 
most of my abilities ; and for those of my fellow 
citizens, who had the folly or treachery to advocate 
the cause of the enemy, I should have felt, as I 
should continue to feel, in spite of their repentance, 
and subsequent party services, a thorough and un- 
extinguishable contempt. It seems impossible for 
human nature to have been silent at such a moment, 
when every sea breeze wafted to the shore the la- 
ment of some poor seaman, destined 

" A homeless Lybian on the stormy deep, 
To call upon his country's name, and weep j" 

when, through the agency of our fur traders and 
voyagers, the savages themselves had become sub- 
sidiary to our politics ; when " yells of savage ven- 
geance, and shrieks of torture, were sighing in the 
western wind, and mingling with every echo from 
the mountains." 

Yours. 



OR, LETTERS FROM NEW-YORK. 143 



LETTER XVH. 



Let my death come from Spain. 

Spanish Proverb. 

Stretched on the ground, the fallen hero lies, 
While savage pleasure fills the victor's eyes. 

The Arena. 



My DEAR I , 

A brief sketch of the Spanish treaties with the 
United States will close the analysis commenced in 
my 15th letter. The Spanish character does not 
now stand as fairly as it did, and the peculiarities 
of the nation seem to have crept into their public 
and official transactions. Whilst France has often re- 
sorted to originality of political invention, and fill- 
ed the courts of Europe with schemes of Utopian 



144 AN englishman's sketch-book; 

happiness, England has assumed at times the 
graceful attitude of an Apollo, and then the fierce- 
ness of the gladiator ; but the tameness and the 
insipidity of Spanish negociation have only been 
varied by the ambidextrous blows, and the cloak- 
ed designs of her political matadors. The two for- 
mer nations have oftentimes displayed a genuine 
frankness, and a magnanimous boldness, which al- 
most redeem the errors of their policy ; but Spain, 
skilled in all the subtleties of mental reservation and 
tedious delay, with a procrastinating perfidy in her 
negociations and threats of vengeance, never known 
to be put in force, has justified the satire of our 
motto, 

" Let my death come from Spain." 

At one time she was evidently the arbiter of na- 
tions, when the Netherlands in Europe, and terri- 
tories in either India, were included in her un- 
bounded empire — when Charles Vth dictated peace 
or war to the world, and at last sought, in the pri- 
vacy of Valladolid, a relief from the tremendous 
responsibilities of an almost universal dominion. 

The first minister to Spain, sent from this country, 
was Benjamin Franklin, who, however, never went 
to Madrid. In 1779, Mr. Jay was chosen minis- 



OR, LETTERS FROM NEW-YORK. 145 

ter plenipotentiary, and the boundaries of the Flo- 
ridas and the free navigation of the Mississippi, 
were intrusted to his care. 

On the 27th October, 1795, a treaty was formed 
between the two countries, by the famous prince of 
peace, Don Manuel De Godoy, and Thomas Pinck- 
ney, Esq. which was styled a treaty " of friendship, 
limits, and navigation." By this the boundary lines 
of East and West Florida were fixed, and also 
those of Louisiana. The navigation of the Missis- 
sippi was permitted to the United States, and the 
right of deposit at New-Orleans allowed American 
merchants for three years to come ; and if disallow- 
ed after that period, then some other equally con- 
venient depot was to be provided. Amongst other 
things provision was made for the reimbursement 
of the sufferers by Spanish captures. 

Scarce had the instrument gone into effect, be- 
fore the intendente at New-Orleans took the liberty 
of refusing permission for any further deposits there, 
without giving the alternative the designation of 
some equally convenient place on the Mississippi. 
This jeopardized all the goods already deposited 
there, and those already on their way. After a due 
remonstrance, the Spanish intendente permitted the 
continuance of the practice, but many persons of 
note at that time advocated the immediate posses- 
13 



14G an englishman's sketch-book; 

sion of Louisiana by force of arms. A committee 
of the American congress reported that there was 
ample cause for war. Mr. Jefferson, the Fabius of 
the times, preferred a different course of policy. 
Messrs. Pinckney, and Robert R. Livingston, were 
sent out to make the purchase of the province, and 
this was effected in Paris, at the time, and for the 
amount which I have already communicated to you. 
It was accordingly taken possession of by Gene- 
ral Wilkinson and Governor Claiborne, American 
commissioners, on the 20th December, 1803, with 
the usual formalities. As Spain, however, was un- 
willing to give up this fine territory, and made great 
efforts to retain it, she continued to saddle the re- 
conveyance to France, with many restrictions, and 
a provision for the Duke of Parma of no small 
value. Even there her intrigues did not cease ; with 
a minister always in America to deprecate the anger 
of the republic, she continued the most unwarranta- 
ble spoliations on its commerce, confined its citizens 
to the dungeons of the inquisition, permitted the AI- 
gerines to rob and plunder them in her waters, and 
protected a band of renegadoes and assassins in the 
Floridas, behind the sanctity of an air-line bounda- 
ry. The Floridas then became important to the 
United States, and negociations were set on foot to 
obtain possession of these. Here the punic faijh of 



OR, LETTERS FROM NEW-YORK. 147 

Spain was again realized ; at one time promising, 
at another time relenting, she kept up the negocia- 
tions as long as she could, without agreeing to do 
any thing. Mr. Adams, the American secretary, 
at this time suffered in his political reputation. The 
rhetoric of his arguments, and the ability of his 
compositions, did not prevent his becoming a dupe. 
On a further examination, after the concession of 
the territory had been agreed on by the Spanish 
minister, it was found, that the Duke D'Alagon 
had a grant of nearly the whole province, which he 
had sold, or luas about to sell, for his own apparent 
individual profit. The figures of speech, and the 
beauties of metaphorical allusion, had for once a 
pointed political example. The secretary grasped 
a shadow for the substance — -a resemblance for the 
thing itself — a trope where he had expected a cer- 
tainty. 

Nothing but the bold stand of the nation against 
the manifest duplicity of the bargain repaired the 
injury and disgrace of this philological ambuscade. 
The treaty was finally made "according to equity 
and good conscience." Even then, it is said, a 
mistake in the western boundaries of the provinces 
was forgotten, and a legal claim, which reached to 
the Rio Brazo del Norte, was overlooked in the 
hurry and confusion of the last arrangement. The 



148 an englishman's sketch-book ; 

treaty was scarcely concluded before the Spanish 
commissioner, Colonel Cavalla, attempted to main- 
tain the crooked policy of his country, by carrying 
off the official records of the provinces. Had he 
succeeded, thousands of dollars, and the titles to an 
immense landed estate, would have been for ever 
lost. But the fearless intrepidity of General Jack- 
son, who overlooked the ill-timed speculations of 
theorists and cavillers, saved the property of those 
who were so unfortunate as to have been the sub- 
jects of Spanish power. This man was born for 
other times. In the storm of a revolution, his 
promptness and sense of justice, his talents and his 
courage, would have made him the leader of patriots, 
and the confederate of statesmen. At the critical 
moment of an affair, he seizes hold of events, and 
with admirable conduct decides their tendency and 
result. Such a man is General Jackson, and as such 
he is the deserving favourite of the nation. 

Having spoken of Mr. Adams, the American se- 
cretary, yo u may ask my further opinion of a man 
at present among the prominent candidates for the 
next presidency. I can only judge of him by his 
public acts, but these are a safe criterion by which 
to form an opinion of a public man. He has writ- 
ten and published a valuable treatise on rhetoric, 
of which he was a professor at one of the New Eng- 



OR, LETTERS FROM NEW-YORK. 149 

land colleges. He writes with ease and force, and 
seems literally possessed, " currente calamo," of 
the readiness and facility of composition. He is 
stiff and reserved in manner, and has not the cour- 
tier-like air of some of his cabinet associates. At the 
levees at Washington he is seen in a corner of the 
drawing-room, standing alone and with a thought- 
ful air, looking at the visiters as they pass before 
him. No one denies that he has been outwitted 
once or twice in his diplomatic arrangements. He 
is a good statesman in the abstract, and a good po- 
litical theorist. But somehow, when he comes to 
deal with men, his standards fail, and his calcula- 
tions prove incorrect. Held up to public notice as 
candidate for the first office in the gift of the peo- 
ple, he has already been assailed by the ridicule of 
his enemies, and addressed by the voice of praise. 
Peculiarly tenacious 'of his opinions, he has ta- 
ken up his own defence, with the zeal of apartizcm 
rather than the coolness of a leader. A prolific 
pen leads him into the minuteness of explanation, 
and an irritability of disposition incites him to repel 
even the suspicion of weakness. He seems to have 
the same anxiety for his reputation that Caesar had 
for his wife — he wishes it not only to be pure but un» 
suspected. He forgets, however, that his eager- 
ness to defend, and his anxiety to preserve it, havs 
13* 



150 AN ENGLISHMAN'S SKETCH-BOOK; 

given a sort of individuality to his efforts, and that 
his unwillingness to rest his cause in any other 
hands than his own is an indirect, though powerful 
satire on the sincerity or ability of his friends. To 
me Mr. Adams appears to have " overstepped the 
modesty of nature." The love of distinction and 
the love of glory are common passions of the heart ; 
but there is a conscious dignity of virtue, which ra- 
ther shuns than seeks the publicity of controversy. 
It supports itself under the weight of misfortune — 
it follows a man into the solitude of retirement. 
It is a trait peculiar to one whose public life has 
been in this state, " its glory and its shame." Such 
a man, overlooking his own injuries, and with mag- 
nanimous forgiveness of his persecutors, enters 
the capitol, to save it from the Goths who would 
spoil the treasury, and already kick the trembling 
beam. The welcome of friends, and the gratitude 
of the nation, 5 are the rewards of his efforts, conse- 
crated to virtue and the good of his native land. 
His former silence increases the present meed of 
praise; his triumph is the triumph of principle, and 
the honours paid him are a tribute to moral and 
intellectual worth. 

On the other band, the statesman who constantly 
anticipates the attacks of his enemies, and com- 
mences himself the war of extermination, loses the 



OR, LETTERS FROM NEW-YORK. 151 

dignity of action, in the personal vanity of his dar- 
ing. If he succeeds, our better feelings do not ac- 
cord with his success ; and although he drags his 
fallen victim behind his car, however he may excite 
our astonishment, he loses all claim upon the finer 
feelings of our nature. 

Yours. 



152 AN ENGLISHMAN'S SKETCH-BOOK ; 



LETTER XVIII. 



Tfieod. What, ho ! Horatio 1 whither art thou bound ? 
Hora. Where yet but few have anchored, I shall moor my vessel. 
I've turned Adventurer ■' 

Old Play. 



My DEAR I , 

Canada, or, as it was once called, New France, 
extends three hundred geographical miles in length, 
between 64° and 97° west longitude, and its medi- 
um breadth is about 200 miles. Its southern boun- 
dary is the United States, its eastern, the ocean ; 
on the north and west its boundaries are undeter- 
mined. It is divided into two provinces, the Upper 
and Lower ; the former being chiefly settled by the 
English, and the latter by the French. Quebec is 
the capital of the lower province, and is situated on 
the northwest side of the St. Lawrence, about 400 



OR, LETTERS FROM NEW-YORK. 153 

miles from its mouth, and contains upwards of 
15,000 inhabitants. Montreal is at about 180 
miles distance above Quebec, and stands on the 
east side of an island formed by the junction of the 
Utawas with the St. Lawrence river. It contains a 
population of 6000 inhabitants. Trois Rivieres is 
a small village half way between them, and former- 
ly was greatly resorted to by the Indians. It was 
the first settlement of the French, and abounds in 
iron ore. In the seignory of Sorelle, 45 miles be- 
low Montreal, the American loyalists were located, 
and their descendants still reside there. The chief 
towns in the upper province are Kingston and Lit- 
tle York, and there are some pleasant villages on 
the Niagara river, called Newark, Queenston and 
Chippewa. Kingston is situated at the egress of 
the St. Lawrence from Lake Ontario, and was 
founded in 1784. It is a garrison town, and the 
naval depot of the province. The inhabitants have 
English manners, and hospitality is not the least of 
their virtues. 

It is here that the armed vessels are laid up in 
ordinary, with the advantages of a fine harbour and 
a dock yard of extraordinary excellence. York is 
an old fashioned town, on the bay of Tarento, and 
was almost destroyed by a redoubtable general of 
the name of Sheaffe, who retired before the Ameri- 



154 AN ENGLISHMAN'S SKETCH-BOOK; 

can commander, and disgraced our arms by blow- 
ing up the town, after resistance was unavailing. 
Newark, an unfortunate place, nearly opposite Fort 
Niagara, previous to its destruction by a General 
M'Clure, of the New- York militia, was a beauti- 
ful town, but it is not yet recovered from the 
blow. A fine plain was covered with handsome 
dwellings, and its delightful gardens abounded with 
delicious fruit. Now the ruins of the village meet 
you at every step — you wander among houseless 
streets and untenanted squares; and the " briar and 
thorn have come up instead of the rose tree." Its 
inhabitants have not yet entirely returned to resume 
their former occupations, and some, with a feeling 
of despair, have bid adieu for ever to their former 
homes. The principal military posts in the Cana- 
das are Quebec, pronounced invulnerable ; King- 
ston, well fortified ; Fort Massesaga, opposite Fort 
Niagara, not yet completed ; Fort Amherst, be- 
tween lakes Huron and Erie ; Fort Maiden, at the 
upper end of lake Erie, and Fort St. Joseph, on an 
island at the upper end of lake Huron, a highly 
important post. 

The following is a brief analysis of the resourses 
of Canada, taken from Colquhoun : 

Population of Upper Canada, .... 100,000 
Lower Canada, .... 200,000 



OR, LETTERS FROM NEW-YORK. 155 



Uncultivated land, acres, 100,000,000 

Cultivated, 3,800,000 

Tons of shipping, 144,000 

Value of Productions, £7,300,000 

Exports, 1,300,000 

Imports, 1,180,000 

Circulating specie, 300,000 

Public property, . . . 1,000,000 

The history of this country, as far I can obtain 
it from the comparison of authentic documents, is 
briefly this. It was discovered by the famous John 
Cabot, in 1495, under the patronage of Henry the 
Vllth, of England. In the beginning of the six- 
teenth century, some French mariners visited it, 
and in 1534, Cartier, a native of St. Malo, came 
to anchor in the gulf of St. Lawrence, and took pos- 
session of the adjacent country in the name of the 
French king. Pleased with his discoveries he 
made a second voyage, and carried home the most 
pompous accounts of the fertility and beauty of 1' Acca- 
die. Different commanders were from time to time sent 
out, but misfortunes and disgrace seemed to attend 
them all. One of these, the Marquis De La Roche, a 
very gallant and accomplished man, fell a victim to 
his extreme sensibility. At length, a seaman of a no- 
ble family in Saintonge in France, Samuel De 
Champlaine, reached the Canadas in the month of 



156 AN englishman's sketch-book; 

May, 1535. He was brave, romantic and persevering, 
and being delighted with the country, then bloom- 
ing in all the splendours of luxuriant vegetation, he 
ascended the river in a batteau. The chanson de 
voyageur, which can be regularly traced back to 
him, now for the first time was echoed from the 
shore ; but do not, however, imagine that the beau- 
tiful composition of Moore has any resemblance to 
the wild and often discordant chorus of the batteau- 
men now chanted on the St. Lawrence. In his 
third voyage he founded Quebec, and here he nearly 
perished by the treachery of his men. But the 
apothecary of the expedition, " whose poverty and 
not his will consented," discovered the treason in 
time to save the life of his patron. Champlaine 
took great pains to conciliate the native tribes, and 
joining the Hurons and Algonquin s, in an expedi- 
tion against the Iroquois, discovered and passed the 
lake which is now called by his name ; and with two 
other Frenchmen, armed with fusees, turned the 
scale of victory in favour of his new allies. The 
noise and smoke of the firearms awe-struck these 
simple children of nature, and they fled in the ut- 
most consternation from the thunders which seemed 
to pursue them. After making many voyages to 
France for necessary supplies, as well as to obtain 
the aid of the government for his new colony, he 



OR, LETTERS FROM NEW-YORK. 157 

founded Montreal in 1611. He still continued ac- 
tive in making discoveries, penetrated to lake On- 
tario, and remained a whole winter with the In. 
dians on its shore. But in 1623, he was surprised 
by an English squadron of three ships, commanded 
by Sir David Kerkt, an officer of Charles I, 
at that time engaged in a war with France. Cham- 
plaine could not prevent the consequences. He 
surrendered at discretion, and was sent a prisoner 
of war to England, where he was treated with de- 
served distinction. While there, he paid particular 
attention to Canadian affairs, and struck with their 
importance, used all his influence to get his favoured 
colony restored. He succeeded beyond his expec- 
tations, and the treaty of St. Germain in 1632, re-, 
instated the French in Canada. It was then made 
a chartered government. Champlaine was sent out 
in the year following as governor, and a host of Je- 
suits went with him to convert the natives to Chris- 
tianity. With a zeal which cannot but excite our 
admiration, they made a perilous voj'age, exposed 
themselves to the hardships of poverty, and the chan- 
ces of death, to win by force of argument, as well as 
by the effect of kindness, the affections of these un- 
tutored men, who had only 

" Seen God in clouds, or heard him in the wind." 

14 



158 AN ENGLISHMAN'S SKETCH-BOOK; 

Many of these priests were learned men, and to 
them we owe much of the history of these early 
times. The American antiquarians have recently 
discovered traces of the Jesuits in the interior of this 
state, and more than one symbol of their faith has 
been dug tip from the graves of the Indians. After 
an arduous life, Champlaine died in 1635, but was 
not, as it has been said, drowned in the waters of 
the lake which he discovered. 

He was a man whose merits have been too long 
consigned to oblivion. Would that my feeble pen 
could preserve the remembrance of his virtues. He 
had constancy and courage, patience and humanity. 
He was a good scholar, a fine geometrician, a gal- 
lant soldier, and a true gentleman. Zealous in the 
service of his country, be exposed his life a thou- 
sand times in her cause, and preserved his cheerful- 
ness and good temper on the most trying occasions. 
He planted the lily, where it has yet not ceased to 
flourish. 

Among the anecdotes recorded of him, there is 
one which shows his knowledge of the heart, and 
his attachment to innocent festivity. He established 
an order of Merry Knights, called " De bon temps," 
the object of which were mirth and good cheer. At 
the regular meetings of the society, a banquet was 
given, and as master of the order, Champlaine 



OR, LETTERS FROM NEW-YORK. 159 

would enter the room with a staff in his hand, the 
collar of the order about his neck, and a napkin on 
his arm, while the knights followed in procession, 
each bearing a dish. Amidst the merriment of the 
table, and the flow of wit, the hardships of the co- 
lonial service were forgotten, and though France 
was remembered 

" With a glow of the cheek and tear in the eye," 

yet new vows of attachment, and new zeal in her 
cause, were, as Champlaine had anticipated, the 
constant results of their social meetings. 

He left behind him a valuable history of his 
voyages, and Charlevoix has made many acknow- 
ledgments of its excellence, and more than once 
paid the homage of his praise to the " Knight Er- 
rant of the woods and lakes." 

At present a want of time prevents my finishing 
this sketch of Canada. If I succeed in amusing 
you, my best and earliest friend, it is more than 
enough to repay me. Believe me, I shall always 
regard you with the warmest sentiments, however 
circumstances may control my destiny. 

Yours. 



160 AN ENGLISHMAN'S SKETCH-BOOK; 



LETTER XX. 



Dionysius Halicarnassensis says, that " History is philosophy 
teaching by example." Bolingbroke on History 



My dear T , 

On the death of the excellent Champlaine, whose 
character was briefly sketched in my last letter, the 
Chevalier De Montagny succeeded to the govern- 
ment. He scarcely occupies a page on the provin- 
cial annals, and he was of that class of men, who, 
if they never say " a foolish thing," they " never 
do a wise one." The Hotel Dieu and the Ursu- 
line Convent were founded during his administra- 
tion. From his time to the year 1662, a Cimme- 
rian darkness rests upon the history of Canada. 
The names of D' Aillebout, De Lauzon and D' Ar- 
genson are mentioned as the successors of Mon- 
tagny. The administration of D'Avagour, which 



OR, LETTERS FROM NEW-YORK. 161 

commenced about this period, was marked by some 
singular events. He was a rash and hasty man ; 
and contrary to the advice of the clergy, permitted 
the introduction and unrestrained use of ardent 
spirits. The French and Indians became at once 
the victims of intemperance, and the utmost profli- 
gacy of manners prevailed amongst them. The 
bishop, a pious and learned prelate, fled to France 
to protect his office from outrage, and to present his 
remonstrance to the throne. Immediately on his 
departure, which was accompanied with all the cir- 
cumstances of grief and lamentation amongst the 
priests, as if nature sympathised with them amidst 
the horrors of the general anarchy, an earthquake 
of unprecedented violence was felt throughout the 
whole country — a chain of mountains was over- 
turned — 

'• Earth shook — red meteors flash'd along the sky, 
" And conscious nature shuddered at the cry." 

A general terror overcame the licentious — the fear 
of the vengeance of heaven came upon them, and 
an entire reformation took place amongst all classes 
of society. The moral and religious feelings of the 
community again prevailed, and ardent spirits were 
strictly prohibited by the most rigid enactments, 
14* 



162 AN englishman's sketch-book; 

In 1664, the French company, finding their af- 
fairs confused, and their government unprofitable, 
resigned their charter into the king's hands. The 
colonial laws were immediately re-modelled, and the 
trade was given with the monopoly to the French 
West India Company. Strong forts were erected in 
every part of the country, and a chain of posts in 
the most important positions, connecting Louisiana 
with Canada, kept the Indian tribes in a state of 
awe, if not of complete dependence. De Mezyand 
De Remi followed D'Avagour, of whom nothing 
very striking is recorded. 

Count de Frontenac succeeded to the govern- 
ment in 1672, and his administration was of the 
highest importance to the colony. He built the 
fort at Kingston, and gave it his name. He put 
the whole country in a posture of defence, and by 
his zeal and good conduct, maintained the affairs of 
his government in perfect order. During his sub- 
sequent command, a major Peter Schuyler, who at- 
tempted to invade Canada, was driven back, and at 
the same time, Sir William Phillips, a native of 
Kennebec, who was knighted by king James, at- 
tempted the conquest of Quebec with thirty-two 
vessels of war. The knight, in all the flush of an- 
ticipated victory, overlooked the nicety of official 
forms, and summoned the old count by a rude mes- 



OR, LETTERS FROM NEW-YORK. 163 

sage to surrender. De Frontenac, however, with 
all the pride of rank, for which he was at times much 
censured, replied to the messenger with a feeling of 
indignation, and an air of contempt, " No gentle- 
man is to be summoned in this manner — Til answer 
your master at the mouth of my guns." 

The result might have been anticipated. Sir 
William retired in disgrace, and the " coming, 
seeing, and conquering," sometimes effected by Ro- 
man valour, and announced with Spartan wit, was 
not at this time the official language of his despatch 
to his own government. 

There has been some difference of opinion with 
regard to the merits of the count. Mr. Smith, the 
historian of New-York, pronounced him one of the 
best governors that ever came to Canada, but other 
writers have charged him with consummate pride 
and unpopular manners. Yet all allow that his ad- 
ministration was of the first order, and that his in- 
defatigable exertions produced the happiest conse- 
quences to the colony. Monsieur de la Barre was 
the next governor. 

The Marquis de Non Ville succeeded him in 
1685, and it was by him that the old fort of Nia- 
gara was erected, at first called by his name. It 
was garrisoned by a Chevalier de la Troye, and 
100 men. It has proved the most permanent struc- 



164 an englishman's sketch-book; 

ture in America, and the mess house still remains in 
a perfect state of preservation. With a keen sense 
of the importance of the site, and an anticipation 
of the future contests which would arise for its pos- 
session, he seized on the position with the avidity 
of a soldier, and fortified it with the skill of an en- 
gineer. During the late war, a battery of heavy 
guns was placed upon the floor of the attic story of 
the mess house by the Americans, and directed with 
effect against the works at Fort George. De Non 
Ville was recalled, and Count Frontenac resumed the 
government, and retained it till his death, in 1697. 
His successor was a Monsieur de Callieres, and 
when his name is mentioned, his brief history is 
told. The famous Vandreuil was the next gover- 
nor, and he commenced his official career in Cana- 
da in 1703. He was a man of fine talents and 
great address. He always had his eyes fixed upon 
the advancement of the provincial interest. He 
conciliated and retained the friendship of all the 
northern Indian tribes, and even those within the 
province of New-York. He had served as a cadet 
under De Frontenac himself, and was thoroughly 
acquainted with their individual habits, and their 
national customs. In short, the influence which the 
French had gained over the natives was consider- 
ed so dangerous, that by a bold stroke in diploma- 



OR, LETTERS FROM NEW-YORK. 165 

cy at the treaty of Utrecht, the Five Nations who 
had always been within the British territory, were 
declared to be under the protection of the British 
crown. 

On the death of Vandreuil, which took place in 
1725, a Monsieur Beauharnois, who was a natural 
son of Lewis XIV, succeeded to the command. Dur- 
ing his administration it was, that the Ursaline nuns 
became the objects of public censure from the cir- 
cumstance of their indulging in the amusements of 
the times. They received company, dined out, at- 
tended soirees, and flirted with the cadets. This 
drew on their heads the reproofs^ of the bishop, 
and the censures of the church. The poor Ursu- 
lines were obliged to withdraw from the scenes of 
their former gaiety. 

On the recall of Beauharnois, an admiral of the 
name of La Jonquiere, who was on his way to Ca- 
nada to succeed to the vacant place, was captured 
and carried into England. While his exchange 
was about being effected, the Count La Salissio- 
niere, a man of great talents, filled the vacant place. 

La Jonquiere, however, arrived in Canada, and 
seemed to employ himself in acquiring money ra- 
ther than fame. When he died, and the priests 
were round him, and wax candles were burning on 
the occasion of some ceremony connected with his 



166 an englishman's sketch-book 



momentarily expected demise, he had them changed 
for tallow in order to save expense. 

Baron De Longueil succeeded at his death, in 
1752. The administrations of these men were dis- 
tinguished by petty altercations about forts, and fre- 
quent visits to the Indians, but more particularly 
by the launching of two vessels of war on lake 
Ontario, which rendered our post at Oswego almost 
entirely useless. 

Let me not forget to notice, while alluding to 
these vessels, a gallant affair which subsequently 
grew out of thern, and in which the Clinton family 
participated. One of these, a French brig, was 
discovered lying opposite Oswegatchie on the St. 
Lawrence, by those English troops who, after the 
conquest of Fort Niagara, were proceeding down 
the river to co-operate with another division of the 
army against Quebec. She fired upon them, both 
to alarm the garrison at Isle Royale, and to interrupt 
their landing. This was effected, however, without 
much loss, covered by the fire of two row galleys 
which followed our troops. 

The next day these galleys were ordered to at- 
tack her, and James Clinton with two companies 
was selected for the command. A warm action of 
three hours ensued, at the end of which the French 
struck their flag, and the brig became their prize. 



OR, LETTERS FROM NEW-YORK. 167 

She carried six twelve pounders and four two's, and 
nearly half her crew were killed or wounded before 
she struck. The weight of her metal gave her 
a great superiority. It was considered a very gal- 
lant affair by our commander, and Captain Clinton 
received great honour for his cool intrepidity and 
soldier-like behaviour. The crews were rewarded 
with ten guineas to drink the health of the English 
general. 

Captain Clinton afterwards became a distinguish- 
ed officer in the revolutionary war, and after serving 
his country with reputation died, leaving behind 
him a son, whose name will live to the most distant 
times. 

The Marquis Du Quesne was the next governor 
of New France, and his government was a stormy 
one. His constant attention was required to keep 
his territory in a state of defence. It was during 
his time that the great Washington commenced his 
career as a colonel, and laid the foundation of his 
future experience by an attack on the French posts 
on the Ohio. A campaign, having for its object 
the conquest of Canada, which general Abercrom- 
bie directed, was planned and attempted to be car- 
ried into effect in 1756; but neither the prudence 
of Shirley, nor the valour of Abercrombie, could 
secure its ultimate success. 



168 AN englishman's sketch-book; 

A subsequent attempt was more successful. Sir 
Jefiery Amherst made an attack on Montreal, ge- 
neral Prideaux acted simultaneously at Niagara, 
and general Wolfe at Quebec. This " threefold 
operation" had its due effect, and after a brilliant 
succession of victories over the French, the Cana- 
das were surrendered in 1760, by the then gover- 
nor, Mons. Vandreuil. The death of Wolfe, in 
the arms of victory, is too well known to require 
any comments from me ; and the conduct of Mont- 
calm will ever be remembered, while genius and 
true chivalry have a place in our memories. 

Amherst was the first English governor, and Sir 
Guy Carlton the next. During the American re- 
volution his mild conduct gained him universal 
esteem ; and if his counsels had prevailed, it is 
doubtful whether the United States would not have 
yet continued an appendage to the British crown. 
From the year 1777 a succession of governors has 
taken place, and the government of Canada seems 
to be considered as a restorative to the decayed for- 
tunes of the English nobility. [Sir George Prevost, 
who made an unsuccessful attempt at Plattsburgh ; 
the Duke of Richmond, a very worthy and indefati- 
gable man, who died from the bite of a favourite 
dog, and the present Lord Dalhousie, who is very 
popular at present in Canada, have lately occupied 



169 



the public attention. Sir Francis Burton, the lieu- 
tenant governor, is a fine hale old man, a bon vi- 
vant, and is very much liked ; whilst Sir Peregrine 
Maitland, lieutenant governor of the upper province, 
lives in comparative retirement at Queenston, in 
the enjoyment of literary and domestic ease. 

My next letter shall have reference to the Canadi- 
ans. As the time of my return, however, draws near, 
I shall be obliged to close this correspondence. The 
cares of business prevent that close attention to the 
subject, which a series of letters of this nature re- 
quires. If I have afforded you any amusement, I am 
satisfied; for, believe me, if you approve them, and 
can overlook their numerous faults, it is all I ex- 
pected at their commencement, and all I wish at their 
close. Yours. 



51 



170 AN ENGLISHMAN'S SKETCH-BOOK; 



LETTER XXI. 



Yet found they here a home, and glad relief, 
And plied the beverage from the bounteous sheaf. 

Campbell. 



My dear I , 

My last letter gave a summary of the Canadian 
history. Its early periods are by far the most in- 
teresting, and even if they were not, they are bet- 
ter known than those of modern times. Whether 
from their want of importance, or the unpleasant re- 
sponsibility which ever attaches to cotemporaneous 
authorship, the recent records of Canada, its memo- 
rials and despatches, are still uncompiled, and await 
the arrangement of some fearless and yet methodi- 
cal hand. 



OR, LETTERS FROM NEW-YORK. 171 

It appears that the first system of government in 
Canada was military, and continued to be so, until 
1664. The governor was almost absolute. His 
vade mecum was a Parisian code, and you may in- 
fer from that fact alone the nature of its injunctions, 
and the despotism of its authority. Even after the 
conquest by the English, it remained in the same 
condition for several years, and when at length our 
common and criminal laws were introduced, they 
were so irksome to the inhabitants, that in 1774 
" the customs of Paris" were re-established. In 
1791 the British constitution was extended in its 
operation to Canada, and the provinces acknow- 
ledged their beneficial effects. Two legislatures 
were formed, one for the upper, and the other for 
the lower province, chosen for four years by the 
people, and liable to prorogation by authority. 
British North America is subject to a governor 
general, and each of the four provinces has its lieu- 
tenant governor, who presides more immediately 
over it. There are also four districts, to each of 
which there are a presiding justice and puisne 
judges. 

The militia of the province are estimated at 
75,000 in number, but then these can never be used 
to advantage. The improvements of modern tactics 
have not yet found their way into the Canadian 



172 AN ENGLISHMAN'S SKETCH-BOOK; 

drill. The gauche ! droit ! of the old battalion is 
still the guide of the provincial soldier as he strides 
over the parade. The words of command being 
chiefly given in French, are of course unintelligible 
to the English veteran, and all concert of action be- 
tween the regular troops, and the levies in provin- 
cial service is rendered impossible. The revenues 
of the country are inadequate to the expenses of the 
civil list, and the deficiency is supplied from the mili- 
tary chest. Among the ordinary items of expense is 
that of Indian affairs. The native tribes cost the go- 
vernment, at the lowest calculation, about £25,000 
sterling annually. Although they have been driven 
from their inheritance, and are rapidly wasting 
away before approaching civilization ; although op- 
pressed by numerous exactions, and fast declining 
in population and importance, yet the whites 
throughout North America are actually tributary 
to them! The United States, and amongst these 
I notice the state of New-York in particular, dis- 
tribute annually large sums of money among the 
remaining descendants of these children of the 
woods. 

The geology of the country is but illy under- 
stood. Its character is granitic, often diversified 
with soft calcareous rocks in horizontal strata. It 
is said the great lakes all lie in the middle, between 



OR, LETTERS FROM NEW-YORK. 173 

the terminate boundaries of two great chains of 
rocks, granite and limestone. I have myself col- 
lected some characteristic specimens of granite 
with a great proportion of mica, several varieties 
of the foetid limestone, and beautiful rhomboi- 
dal crystals of lime. Under the bank of Goat 
Island, between the falls, snowy gypsum is found in 
considerable quantities. Near Quebec there are 
lead mines, and iron mines at Trois Rivieres ; na- 
tive copper is found on the south-west bank of Lake 
Superior ; coal has been much sought for, but not 
yet found. 

The soil of Canada is light but fertile, the cli- 
mate variable, and the range of the thermometer be- 
tween 92° in summer, and 2S° below T zero in win- 
ter. 

There are 100 seigneuries in Lower Canada, 
first granted by the French government to merito- 
rious officers, which still retain the peculiarities of 
the feudal tenure. These continue in the families 
of the old noblesse, but the splendours of their 
possession under the new order of things, which 
English laws, manners, and influence have brought 
about in Canada, are almost entirely departed. 

The agriculture of the country is not very flou- 
rishing, but some scientific gentlemen have made an 
estimate of the average yieldings of the crops, and 
15* 



174 an englishman's sketch-book; 

give the following result. Their seed time is in 
April — harvest early in August. The increase of 
oats is as 20 to 1 ; of barley, 10 to 1 ; of pease, 5 to 
1 ; of summer wheat, 10 to 1. 

The Canadian fisheries are not yet of much value. 
Cod and shad, are taken at all seasons for the West 
India trade, and seals and porpoises are caught in 
considerable numbers in the St. Lawrence. 

The fur trade of the North West Company is 
one of the chief resources of Canada, and it is con- 
nected with man}- interesting peculiarities. 

You have heard much of the fortifications at 
Quebec. They are indeed stupendous. By the 
kindness of a friend, a pass from the adjutant gene- 
ral's office, signed and countersigned, sealed with 
red wax, and interlined with red ink, gave me per- 
mission to see the works, and authority to cross the 
line of sentinels. Delicacy of course dictates that 
I should be silent on the subject of what I then 
saw — the impregnability of the fortress, the numer- 
ous enfilades that may be swept in all directions, 
and render death certain at every approach, and 
the vast subterraneous works going on, where the 
whole population of the city during a siege may re- 
main secure in capacious traverses under ground. 
Indeed, at all points they have made 

'* Assurance doubly sure.*' 



OR, LETTERS FROM NEW-YORK. 175 

The winter in Canada is very tedious to foreign- 
ers, but notwithstanding, is the liveliest season in 
the year. The fur caps, bonnets rouges, carioles, 
and balls of the Canadians, are themes of pleasing 
comment, and would require pages of illustration. 
But of all the enjoyments to which they devote 
themselves, the most delightful are the Pic Nic 
parties in the winter season. A party of friends is 
made up for some anxiously anticipated day, 
amongst whom certain portions of the arrangement 
are divided, and by whom certain parts of the enter- 
tainment are to be furnished. The day arrives, 
and a line of equipages is seen dashing along the 
road to the place of rendezvous. Here and there 
an adventurous whip urges his four-in-hand at their 
topmost speed, or a nice reinsman from the box of 
a tilbury sleigh, managing with the utmost coolness 
and apparent non chalance, the gay spirit of his 
tandem leader, and the steadier gait of his "goer" 
in the shafts. A band of music precedes the whole, 
and wherever the road is smooth enough to allow 
them to use their instruments, the woods, the hills, 
the groves, re-echo with the jocund strains. At 
length they reach some noted inn, where Boniface 
has been looking out for them "this half hour," 
and where he marshals the way to his best rooms, 
warmed with immense winter fires. If the night be 



176 AN englishman's sketch-book; 

pleasant, an agreeable succession of cotilions and 
contre-danses, amidst the utmost gaiety of heart, 
and under the influence of the most delightful mu- 
sic, fills up the hours which precede Pic Nic. Sup- 
per is at last announced, and the good cheer is duly 
honoured by the guests. Wild fowl vies with wild 
fowl, and the riches of the larder are spread before 
the eye in due order of precedence, and with due 
reference to culinary topography. The vigour of 
old port, and the delicacy of Canary, are equally 
appreciated on the occasion, and the refinements of 
London particular are not forgotten amidst the ge- 
neral joy. The supper finished, the party are on 
the wing, and their rapidity of motion is somewhat 
increased by the lateness of the hour. Once more 
they enter town, and with many expressions of 
friendship, and many a hearty laugh at the inci- 
dents of the evening, they suddenly disperse to 
their homes, where a long gossip over the moulder- 
ing fire concludes the diversion of the night. These 
frolics are long remembered, and many of the hap- 
piest of her life have been traced by the Canadian 
belle to the gay festivity and eventful incidents of a 
Pic Nic party. Yours. 



OR, LETTERS FROM NEW-YORK. 177 



LETTER XXII. 



" Clarum et venerabile nomen.' 



MY DEAR I , 

In another week I return to my native shore, and 
this letter may be the last I shall write you. I pro- 
mised you some further account of Mr. Clinton in 
one of my earlier communications, and I will redeem 
my promise in as brief a manner as possible. 

He is a man possessing a majestic appearance, 
with a countenance of manly beauty, a forehead ele- 
vated and commanding, eyes brilliant and expres- 
sive. His hair is slightly inclined to curl, and his 
complexion is of clear red and white. In his move- 
ments dignified, in his conversation instructive ; 
he is the idol of domestic affection and the object of 
public favour. His father was a distinguished offi- 



178 AN englishman's sketch-book; 

cer in the revolution — his grandfather was a na- 
tive of Ireland, of honourable, if not noble connex- 
ions, and a person of importance in the state to 
which he emigrated. From the paper which he left 
behind him, it is evident that he was high in the es- 
teem of the government at that time ; and besides 
being the colonel of a provincial regiment that saw 
service, he was a scholar — a poet — and a gentle- 
man. 

His grandson, of whom I now speak, was born 
in the year 1769 — distinguished as being the era 
which gave a Canning to England, and Napoleon 
to France. 

Mr. Clinton, prepared by a collegiate education, 
devoted himself to the study of the law ; and, con- 
contrary to an opinion which has prevailed at times, 
practised at the bar, and held numerous briefs at 
the nisi prius courts of his native county. 

His debut in public life was attended with uni- 
versal approbation. There was not a dissenting 
voice in the city of New-York when he was held up 
as its constitutional representative in the Assembly 
of this state. From this he rose to the upper house 
or Senate of the state, and his legal opinions, given 
in the solemn character of a judge of the highest le- 
gal court in New-York, are replete with learning 
and critical acumen. Mr. Clinton's career was so 



179 

splendid throughout, that the public scarcely had 
time to observe him in one capacity before he as- 
tonished and delighted them in another. I am in- 
formed that when this part of his career comes duly 
to be considered, it will stand the test of time. 

" Recorded honours shall thicken round his monument." 

After becoming the founder of a party which has 
adhered to him with a fidelity which shames the ter- 
giversations of his opponents, he took his seat in the 
Senate of the United States, and while there distin- 
guished himself by his learning, his patriotic adhe- 
rence to his country, and his statesmanlike elucida- 
tions of constitutional principles. 

He was next placed at the head of the Corpora- 
tion of the city of New- York, having resources and 
a population equal if not superior to those of some 
of the states and half of the principalities of Europe. 
Nor was the place a sinecure. His luminous opi- 
nions on the bench of the city courts — his active di- 
rection of the police of New-York — his plan of de- 
fence for the city during the war, which was adopt- 
ed with approbation — his heroic efforts to sustain 
the country at that time — his writings, replete with 
devotion to its cause, and incentives to its support — 
his personal exertions in the trenches, and his offer 
to take the field, are only a few of the traits of his 



180 AN ENGLISHMAN'S SKETCH-BOOK; 

generous disposition and his sublime patriotism. 
About this time he was held up as a candidate for 
the office of president ; and although he came with- 
in a few votes of being elected against the whole 
force of the powers that were, it was a fortunate 
thing for himself and his country that he was not 
successful ; for his mind had at this time become 
much engaged in works of internal improvement, 
and had he been elected, in all human proba- 
bility they would never have been matured. He 
lost an honour that has not been enjoyed exclu- 
sively by men of talent in this country, while by the 
force of his great popularity, and by his almost in- 
dividual efforts, he effected the accomplishment of the 
greatest work of the age, and covered himself with 
immortal glory. The mushrooms of party " may 
flourish and may fade," but such men as Clinton 
never could have acquired additional honour by the 
possession of an office too often gained by detesta- 
ble intrigues and disgusting coalitions. 

Amid all the tempests of the Republic he has 
stood 

" Unshaken, unsubdued, unterrified." 

It is now universally admitted that he carried the 
canal project, and the laws for its appropriation ; 
and by his writings disseminated throughout the 



OR, LETTERS FROM NEW- YORK. 181 

the Union, a knowledge of the policy, and a spirit 
of improvement, that have created an era in the his- 
tory of the United States. 

The New-York canals exist as monuments of hi- 
wisdom, and he has had the felicity of watching their 
progress, of remarking their entire success, and of 
being followed by the prayers and benedictions 
grateful people. 

He has been elected governor of the state of 
New- York without opposition, an event that had 
never before been witnessed in the state, and with 
a short interval of retirement re-elected to the chief 
magistracy. 

The writings of Governor Clinton are numerous 
and weJl known to the world. His Literary Dis- 
course before the Historical Society of New-York 
is a splendid and abiding specimen of talent. The 
Letters of Hibernicus, which were thrown off a^ a 
morning amusement, and to aid the canal policv. 
are deservedly admired, though written with haste. 
and with haste revised for publication. His ad- 
dresses in aid of benevolent institutions are models 
of excellence. But his messages to the Legislature 
are the best of his productions. In these the work- 
ings of his great mind are more powerfully display- 
ed ; in these is the splendour of his intellect more de- 
cidedly shown. The messages of his predecess 
16 



182 AN ENGLISHMAN'S SKETCH-BOOK; 

had been mere business documents, confined to 
temporary expedients and mere local remedies. 
It was for CLINTON to strike out a nobler 
path to glory ; and while he charms us with the 
classical beauty of his style, and the energy of his 
expressions, he " carries away captive the judg- 
ment and the heart." In these messages will pos- 
terity look for instruction and improvement. The 
speculations of Locke, the theories of Bolin- 
broke, and the policy of Dewitt of Holland, are 
here surpassed, and I venture nothing in asserting 
that the state papers of Clinton will never cease to 
be the textbook of philosophers and statesmen. 

Yours. 



OR, LETTERS FROM NEW-YORK. 



LETTER XXIII. 



Downward they move, a melancholy band, 
Pass from the shore and darken al! the strand. 

Deserted Village. 



My dear I- 



The packet is detained by head winds, and I sit 
down to the pleasing task of writing you once 
again. As we may not meet immediately on my 
arrival, the letter will at all events inform you of 
my having sailed in its company, and of my safe 
return. 

On the whole, I am perfectly satisfied that 
America is a fine country, delightful to visit, and 
agreeable to inhabit. 

You will find a vast number of our own people, 
not only established and flourishing in this asylum 



184 an englishman's sketch-book; 

of the oppressed, but thousands are annually arri- 
ving on its shores, with expectations of prosperity, 
and hopes of happiness. 

It was certainly very natural for me to make 
some inquiries about their conduct on their arrival, 
and their subsequent behaviour, so far as they 
could be ascertained, but it was impossible to arrive 
at any precision. During my tour, I often met 
with singular varieties of good and ill which had 
befallen them. 

They generally come as steerage passengers, and 
if they land at New- York, the captain is, I believe, 
obliged to give bonds to the municipal authorities, 
that they shall not become chargeable to the city, 
for two years after, they land. 

They immediately disperse on their arrival, some 
to boarding houses in the city, as temporary resting 
places ; while others pass up the North river by the 
first conveyances. The constant demand for la- 
bour, and the cheapness of land, leave to the poorer 
classes of emigrants, as well as to the more able, the 
immediate opportunity of profitable employment. 

It is estimated that no less than a million and a 
half have emigrated to America since the revolu- 
tion, and travel where you will, you find English, 
Irish, and Scotch in every city, village, and hamlet 
of the United States. 



OK, LETTERS FROM NEW-YORK. 185 

The Irish are very successful when they adhere 
to habits of self-denial. Some of the richest men 
in America began as day labourers, when they were 
thrown pennyless on the American shores. The 
Scotch are exceedingly thrifty, but perhaps never 
make the after appearance, (I mean such a dis- 
play of their success,) as do the Irish under similar 
circumstances. 

The Welsh generally become agriculturists, and 
soon arrive at comfortable independence, and very 
little more. They do not improve by intercourse 
with the Anglo-Americans, but maintain their own 
good opinion of themselves, in spite of their want 
of education before, and their inattention to it after 
they arrive. 

I found many remains of old English fami- 
lies — adventurers of early date, and ante-revolu- 
tionary growth, who can look back and quarter 
arms with some of our bravest and our best. Seve- 
ral latent titles have recently received their repre- 
sentatives from America, and an agent has actually 
come out from London to search for the relics of a 
noble line. 

America will yet more become the* residence or 
English people. The language, manners, and 
habits of the Americans, accompanied by much 
16* 



ISQ AN ENGLISHMAN'S SKETCH-BOOK; 

self regard, much enthusiasm about their own po- 
litical affairs, and much admiration of the 

" Fast anchored isle," 

nresent upon the whole an agreeable melange. An 
Englishman of reputation and science, is feted from 
one end of the country to the other. The best so- 
ciety is at his command, and no people in the world 
are more hospitable than the Americans. 

With them, a fortune of 25000 pounds sterling is 

sufficient to ensure all the comforts and elegancies 

of life ; and when to this class, and to those indeed 

jive not upon income from investments merely, 

but upon the daily receipts of professional labour, 

allow refinement, a keen perception of literary 

ellence, gentleness, and often a high polish of 

iner, we do them but common justice, and 

rd them only deserved praise. 

Sometimes I have traced the romance of real life 

j rj the history of these early emigrants. With one 

English family now branched off into many parts, 

;came quite intimate, and the following sketch 

heir fortunes, though much of the detail must be 

tted from delicacy, I can without impropri- 

v relate to 3*011. An eminent merchant in one of 

* ^rst cities of England was blessed with fortune 



OR, LETTERS FROM NEW-YORK. 1S7 

and prosperity. His vessels spread their canvass to 
the Atlantic breeze, and his freights realized golden 
returns at the port of Philadelphia. His sons and 
daughters were talented, and some of them, particu- 
larly the younger, to whom his increasing prosperi- 
ty permitted a wide range of accomplishments, 
were admired and beloved by a circle of valued 
friends. Living thus in the happiest manner, the 
associate of learned and distinguished men, with a 
taste for music, that drew around him amateurs of 
no ordinary pretensions, the merchant passed into 
the autumn of life. 

His two eldest sons, one of whom was an ela- 
borate scholar and a classical poet, were taken 
into the house 'with him, and incautiously em- 
barked in some unnecessary speculations which 
eventuated in immense losses, and broke the old 
merchant's heart ! His two sons were then in 
America. The daughters and the mother were 
thunderstruck by this dispensation of providence, 
which came over them like a summer's cloud. To- 
tally at a loss how to act, the widow consented as a 
matter of principle to the sequestration of the Eng- 
lish property by the creditors, about which no fur- 
ther inquiry ever was made by her. The family, 
heart-broken and despairing, bade adieu to Eng- 
land, and sailed for America, where the remains of 



188 AN englishman's sketch-book. 

some property on that side of the water were expect- 
ed to be preserved. 

After various vicissitudes, in which however their 
confidence in heaven never was forgotten, the bro- 
thers and mother died, the daughters married, and 
their children have become heads of families. These 
still cling to their English predilections, and tracing 
back their line of ancestors to those whose names 
even now are the subjects of eulogium to scholars 
and statesmen, have no thought of returning to 
their father land,, but have become Americans in 
every respect but their recollections. 

This is but one of a thousand instances of the 
kind which would, with the particulars somewhat 
more enlarged, figure in the pages of the novelist, 
or the sketches of the traveller. 

But there is a noise on deck — the vessel is under 
way — I must catch one more glimpse of the Ame- 
rican hills ere I bid them a last 

Adieu. 



NOTES. 



Mr. C— Page 1. 

Mr. C. is at present the president of the Morris Ca- 
nal Company ; a work of great importance to the city of 
New-York. He has been much in public life since the 
date of the letter. 

Mr. Fulton. — Page 10. 

The general use of steam-boats must be attributed to 
the successful efforts of Mr. Fulton's mind. Lakes and 
rivers throughout America are now navigated with safe- 
ty and rapidity by means of his discovery. What must 
we think of a voyage of 2000 miles, performed in a very 
few days by a steam-boat on the Mississippi, or what 
praise shall not be awarded to the country where a 
steam-boat fitted up in beautiful style, is found running 
from New-York to Albany in ten or eleven hours, a dis- 
tance of 145 miles, often against wind and tide 1 

Painting. — Page 16. 

There is a new establishment in New-York, called the 
National Academy of the Arts of Design, at which the 



190 NOTES. 

original pieces of the American Artists are exhibited. It 
has met with great encouragement, and is in the hands 
of able men. 

The Americans are cultivating a taste for pictures. 
Several persons have imported valuable specimens at 
high prices, and their own painters are constantly em- 
ployed. A good landscape by their favourite artists, 
is worth £50. Alston's new piece, at which he has 
worked ten years, is about coming out, and will be worth 
many thousand dollars. Pictures by Morse and Sar- 
geant have sold at very high rates. 

The Neio-York Bar.— Page 20. 

Mr. Emme't is since dead, and he is sincerely lament- 
ed 1 . Mr. Kent has published two volumes of commen- 
taries, since these letters were written, which place him, 
if possible, higher than before in the rank of profound 
Jurists. 

Mr. A".— Page 35. 

Mr, K. has since been abroad to the court of St. 
James, and is now no more. 

Mr. Clinton.— P 'age 39. 

Mr. Clinton is also departed. No man in America 
ever died in possession of greater honour, more heart- 
felt attachment by the people, or more deserved venera- 
tion by the friends of literature and science. He died 
11th February, 1S2S. 

u Clcivum ct venerabile nomen." 



NOTES. 191 

The Spark.— Page 64. 

The fact in relation to the Princess Borghese, is men- 
tioned because she refused to go in vessels that offered 
previously, and waited for the Spark, in consequence of 
her superior accommodations. 

Niagara Falls. — Page 80. 

A carriage road is constructing down the banks of the 
river, and a safe ferry will be hereafter established, over 
which they can pass. At present visiters are taken over 
in a small boat. 

Periodicals. — Page 101. 

Every year adds to the number of newspapers circula- 
ted in the United States. 

Albany.— Page 102. 

Albany has actually arrived to the number of 20,000 
inhabitants, if we may believe report. It has the ap- 
pearance of an English town. 

River Navigation. — Page 120. 

A steam dredging machine that will excavate 100 tons 
an hour, will soon be in operation below Albany, and 
will materially improve the river. Coasting vessels from 
distant ports now ply to Albany. It is the place of de- 
posit for the Western and Northern Canals ; and when we 
•onsider that sixty boats a day arrive, and as many de- 



192 NOTES. 

part during the season of business in spring and fall, and 
that these boats carry 20 or 30 tons, one may estimate 
the importance of the trade of Albany. The revenue to 
the state is almost a million. 

Mr. Jefferson. — Page 131. 
Mr. Jefferson is since dead. 

Gen. Jackson. — Page 148. 

At the time General Jackson was alluded to, no one 
supposed he would be so popular a candidate for the 
presidency, for he was not in the line of promotion. He 
received, however, at the last election, the greater num- 
ber of votes, and is at present a candidate with fair pros- 
pects of success. 

Mr. Adams.— -Page 150. 

Mr. Adams is certainly a man of great acquirements 
and abilities. The controversies with Mr. Russel and 
Mr. Clay, led the author to notice his disputatious turn. 

Canada. — Page 154. 

Canada is now in some confusion, in consequence or 
political difficulties. 

Clinton family. — Page 167. 

General James Clinton's life, as well as that of his 
father, Colonel Charles Clinton, has lately been publish- 
ed in a valuable biographical work of Mr. Rodgers, for- 
merly member of Congress from Pennsylvania. 



NOTES. 193 

Plattsburg. — Page 168. 

An unsuccessful attempt was made by our troops at 
Plattsburgh. This was a very decisive defeat, and shows 
conclusively that the militia may be considered, in ex- 
treme cases, a strong defence. 



Note, by the Editor. 

The last number of the Quarterly Review contains a 
critique on two recent publications relating to America, 
which have found their way to the reading public. - Seve- 
ral remarks in this critique are quite reprehensible. 

It accuses the Americans of setting up a claim to a 
tract of country lying on the Pacific Ocean. If posses- 
sion be evidence of title, the Americans have not merely 
set up, but supported the claim. 

It also asserts that favourable terms of peace were, in 
1S14, held out by England from an heroic spirit of for- 
giveness! that she might have " crushed the whole fabric 
of the federal government," and that 10,000 Waterloo 
veterans would have marched through North America ! ! 

Such remarks are not only impolitic, but untrue. 
England made peace because her national debt was in- 
creasing, and her manufacturing interests decreasing, 
and this is the secret of her heroism. 
17 



194 NOTES. 

She never could have crushed the United States with 
a population often millions, when she failed to do it when 
they had only three millions. She could not do it now, if 
she failed to do it then, for other reasons not necessary 
to mention here ; but such as are connected with their 
interests, their commerce, their canals, and a thousand 
other bonds of union. As to 10,000 men marching 
through North America, it is a monstrous absurdity. Sir 
George Prevost could not do it with the very description 
of force alluded to. General Pakenham could not main- 
tain his position before New Orleans ; and General Ross 
before Baltimore, found his veterans were repulsed by 
militia. 

The writer says there are no such things as farms let 
out upon money-rents in the United States. Every one 
knows this to be incorrect. 

With regard to the American navy, there is as usual 
the old misrepresentation. 

The Reviewer forgets that if there were instances 
where in single combat an American frigate carried 
heavier metal ihan the captured English, there are others 
where an inferior American force captured a superior 
one of the enemy. But the English editors before the 
war threatened to blow the American navy out of 
water with their sloops of war. The complaint of ine- 
quality of metal therefore comes with an ill grace. 

The Reviewer asserts that the steam-ship Fulton is a 
receiving vessel for " pressed seamen" ("for kidnapping 
is very little short of it.") 



BOTES. 195 

If by this it is said or insinuated that the American 
navy is manned with pressed seamen, it is false, and 
well known to be so. 

Some of the disagreeable American habits alluded 
to by the Reviewer are not to be denied. It is but too 
common in the United States to put half a dozen people 
at a time in one room to sleep, and to crowd all descrip- 
tions of travellers at the table d'hote. These things will 
soon be rectified. 

But several other complaints in the article we allude 
to, are certainly without foundation. 



NOTE TO THE READER 



To prevent misapprehension, it may be proper to state, that 
*ome parts of two of the Letters in this collection appeared under 
a different signature, and as they may be remembered by the read- 
ers of the New-York periodicals, that they were written by the 
same pen. 






Errata. — Page* 136 and 137, for " Carnathen," read Car- 
marthen . 



L. C. Bindery 
1904. 



